Russia targets emergency crews at the site of a deadly strike in southern Ukraine

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, November 9 ------ A Russian drone struck emergency workers on rescue missions in southern Ukraine, hitting a former school and nearby shelter that had been earlier blasted by multiple Russian guided bombs as residents waited for humanitarian aid, authorities said. No one was injured in Sunday’s strike on the village of Komyshuvakha, but specialized rescue equipment was damaged, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Ukraine said Monday’s attack on the same location killed at least 55 people near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region. As of Sunday afternoon, 45 people were listed as missing, according to the acting head of the regional military administration, Mykhailo Semikin. Many of the bodies recovered have not been identified, and DNA analysis is ongoing.

Village resident Mykola Krasnov, 72, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he was still looking for his wife, but had heard no word from rescuers. “She went to get humanitarian aid, and a 3-ton bomb was dropped there. Where is she?” he said. “She didn’t come home, and they didn’t find her body there. She isn’t in the morgue, and she isn’t here alive.” Ukraine has routinely accused Russia of conducting multiple strikes at the same site in quick succession to target emergency crews responding to the initial attack.

The community bids farewell to police officers and neighbors

On Saturday, police officers and relatives gathered in Zaporizhzhia for a farewell ceremony for six officers killed in Russian strikes on Komyshuvakha, including four who died near the former school.

Rain fell as families wept beside the coffins, and officers held portraits of their fallen colleagues. “They used every skill at their disposal to protect themselves. But when the enemy deliberately gathered civilians in one place and then launched strikes against them, no skills could have helped,” said Andrii Khomenko, a police lieutenant colonel who had worked alongside the victims.

The community also said goodbye to three residents among the dead. Among those mourning was Yurii Karapetian, whose wife Natalia was killed. He said she was distributing bread to those in the shelter when the Russian bombs struck. “This pain, I would say, is unbearable,” he said, and urged the international community to act. “The whole world must understand that if (the Russians) are not stopped, they will not stop. They will not stop at Ukraine. They will not stop anywhere,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called the attack on emergency crews in Komyshuvakha “absolute cynicism and brutality” in a post on X.

Source: apnews.com