Civilian Death Toll Rises After Russian Strikes on Aid Centre, Hospice and Hospital in Ukraine
Russian attacks on a school‑turned‑aid centre, a hospice in Dnipro and a hospital in Kharkiv have killed at least 38 civilians and wounded dozens in the past 24 hours.
Russian strikes across Ukraine have killed at least 38 civilians and injured scores of others in the last 24 hours, according to Ukrainian officials.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a glide‑bomb attack on the village of Komyshuvakha on Monday night resulted in at least 33 deaths. The strike hit a school building that was being used as an aid distribution centre, where residents had gathered to receive humanitarian assistance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the incident as “one of the largest mass killings committed by Russia during this war” and warned that the death toll could rise as “more than 50 people could be trapped under the rubble.” He linked the attack to Ukraine’s proposal to extend and expand a recent ceasefire in the Kherson region, which had allowed evacuation from the Russian‑occupied town of Oleshky.
According to local authorities, nine 3,000 kg aerial bombs struck the school. Residents initially sought shelter underground, but the roof collapsed, trapping many beneath the debris. Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said, “The scale of the tragedy is difficult to comprehend.”
Russia’s defence ministry claimed the target was a Ukrainian military unit and reported the death of 25 servicemen. However, BBC News Russian defence correspondent Ilya Abishev noted there was “no credible evidence” that the site was being used for military purposes and that no major military or industrial facilities exist in Komyshuvakha.
The United Nations human‑rights monitoring mission said the distribution of aid at the school had been “highly publicised” and that the attack “seems to have violated the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
Further north, a Russian missile destroyed a hospice in the central city of Dnipro on Monday night. Nearly 50 terminally ill patients were being transferred to other facilities after the strike; the oldest patient was 90 years old.
In the north‑eastern city of Kharkiv, a hospital was hit, leaving 73 people wounded, most of them elderly patients, according to President Zelensky.
The string of attacks comes as the UN reported that civilian casualties in Ukraine have reached a “record level” last month, underscoring the growing humanitarian crisis.
