At least 26 people were killed after Russian forces bombed a humanitarian aid centre in Komyshuvakha, a village in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, on Monday.
The building served as both a shelter and a weekly distribution point for relief packages, where residents who remained in the village gathered every Monday to collect them.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces struck as residents were arriving at the shelter, followed by a second strike, with more bombs targeting the facility.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as “a vile terrorist strike”, accusing Russia of deliberately targeting civilians receiving humanitarian assistance.
Mr Zelensky said Russian forces could not have been unaware that the remaining residents of Komyshuvakha gathered every week to collect humanitarian packages.
He said, “This is yet another proof that Russia does not want any kind of de-escalation and real justice.”
During the rescue operation, Ukraine’s emergency services reported that two members of a rescue crew and four police officers had been found dead.
Ukrainian emergency services report that five people, including two rescue workers, were receiving treatment in hospitals, while the secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council said 27 people were missing.
Amid the attack in Komyshuvakha, a drone attack injured 12 people in the eastern Kharkiv region.
In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, five people were reportedly injured after a warehouse was struck, damaging nearby residential buildings.
The attacks also destroyed an energy facility, greenhouses, homes and a refrigeration facility.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted 212 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The governor of Russia’s Samara region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said air defence systems repelled an attack in the region.