Russian Drone Hits Rescuers at Bombed Zaporizhzhia Shelter
No one was hurt, but rescue equipment was damaged at Komyshuvakha, where crews are still searching for victims of the Nov. 2 strike. Zelenskyy called it "absolute cynicism and brutality."
A Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone hit emergency crews working in Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, on Sunday morning, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. No one was hurt, but special rescue equipment was damaged.
The crews are searching the rubble of a former school that served as a shelter and aid distribution point. Russian guided aerial bombs destroyed it on Nov. 2. Seven days later, Zelenskyy says people may still be trapped.
He called the attack "absolute cynicism and brutality." Kyiv describes the original strike as a double blow: after the first bomb, nine more fell on the same shelter. Ukraine has long accused Russia of hitting the same spot twice to reach those who come to help.
As of Saturday, Ukraine's State Emergency Service had recovered 55 bodies, and Ukrainian figures put the missing at about 45. Moscow has not responded to the accusation, and there is no independent confirmation that the drone targeted the rescuers.
Zelenskyy's message also tallies the week: more than 3,000 attack drones, 115 missiles and nearly 1,900 guided bombs. More than 600,000 people lost power in the Dnipro region, and 140 apartment buildings in Zhytomyr have no heating.
With winter closing in, Kyiv is asking Europe for coordinated sanctions and more air defense. Deliberately attacking rescue workers would violate international humanitarian law, if proven.
