Military intelligence identifies Russian soldiers involved in deadly Komyshuvakha aid center strike
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Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) has identified Russian military personnel allegedly involved in a Nov. 2 airstrike on a school in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where civilians were receiving humanitarian aid, HUR said on Nov. 7.
At least 55 people were killed in the attack, while more than 50 others remain missing, according to local authorities. Search and rescue operations at the site have continued for six days, with the final death toll yet to be established.
Russian forces struck the front-line village several times on Nov. 2, initially hitting an underground school where local residents had gathered to receive humanitarian aid. One of the bombs was a 3-ton FAB-3000, containing more than 1,000 kilograms of explosives.
HUR identified Cl. Fedor Zubakov, head of the fire-strike planning group at the headquarters of Russia's Dnepr Group of Forces, as the officer who planned the attack.
HUR also identified six Russian pilots allegedly responsible for carrying out the bombing, including Cpt. Sergei Yeliseyev, Cpt. Dmitry Zverev, Sr. Lt. Rodion Plotnikov, Sr. Lt. Nikita Ignatyev, Sr. Lt. Maksim Sokolenko, and Lt. Vadim Perekhrest.
The crew of a seventh aircraft is still being identified, HUR said.
At least four Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were involved in the operation, according to the intelligence agency.
The Su-34 is a multifunctional fighter-bomber used to deploy different types of guided bombs (KAB) and high-explosive bombs (FAB), as well as air-to-surface missiles. It can also be used for reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions.
HUR said it had identified those involved in the attack as part of efforts to document Russian war crimes.
On Nov. 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there has been very little reaction from the international community to the "insane attack" in Komyshuvakha.
"But (this attack), like the thousands of other war crimes Russia has committed against Ukrainian people, demands a strong response. Evil always goes further if it goes unchallenged. We are counting on a response: Ukraine needs air defense support right now," Zelensky said.
The president also called an ongoing rescue operation "very difficult" and "extremely challenging" as the constant threat of further Russian strikes remained.
Rescuers can work for only 15 to 20 minutes at a time before Russian drones and the threat of guided aerial bombs force them to withdraw, Oleksandr Kovalenko, a spokesperson for the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, told the Kyiv Independent.
The attack destroyed what Kovalenko described as the only relatively safe place left in the settlement — an underground facility where residents could shelter from Russian attacks and receive humanitarian aid. How that aid will reach those who remain is now unclear.
Some of the bodies rescuers find are so badly damaged that authorities have to collect DNA samples from relatives to identify them.
The situation in Komyshuvakha reflects a broader reality across front-line communities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where settlements located just 5 to 15 kilometers (about 3 to 9 miles) from Russian positions face near-constant drone, artillery, and aerial bomb attacks.
In just one day, Russian forces carried out 785 strikes on 51 settlements across the oblast, authorities reported on Nov. 6.
