Death toll from Russian strike on Ukrainian aid centre reaches 42, police say

The death toll ​from a Russian bombing of ​an aid distribution ‌point in ​Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday has risen to 42, police said ‌on Thursday, making it one of the deadliest strikes on civilians this year. Zaporizhzhia police said on the Telegram messaging app that up ‌to 33 people remained buried beneath the rubble in ‌the village of Komyshuvakha, and that rescue work and efforts to identify the bodies were continuing.

On Wednesday, Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional ⁠Defense ​Council, had said ⁠59 people were missing. Bodycam footage from one of the police officers ⁠killed, which Reuters verified, showed the moments before a second Russian ​strike hit, destroying a shelter where residents were hiding after ⁠a radio warning.

Ukraine's national police said the strikes included a 3-ton FAB ⁠glide ​bomb, a weapon that defence intelligence websites say carries around 1.4 tons of explosives. Russia's Defence Ministry said ⁠the attack targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements, and ⁠that ⁠up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed.

Moscow and Kyiv both deny deliberately targeting civilians.