The Komyshuvakha death toll has reached 42, Ukrainian police said on Thursday, and up to 33 people are still buried beneath the rubble of the village's aid distribution point, bombed on Monday in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters described the bombing as one of the deadliest strikes on civilians this year. Zaporizhzhia police, posting on the Telegram messaging app, said rescue work and efforts to identify the bodies were continuing — three days after the bombs fell on residents who had gathered to collect humanitarian aid. This is the latest dated update to our November 2 report of the bombing and the November 3 update as the toll rose.
What is the confirmed toll, and how many people are still missing?
Forty-two people are confirmed dead, and the count is not final. The figure of 42 was given by police on Thursday, up from the 40 announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council, had said 59 people were missing; Zaporizhzhia police said on Thursday that up to 33 people remained buried beneath the rubble. Zelenskyy said on November 4 that around 30 more people were potentially still trapped. The missing-person figures are officials' estimates at different points in a continuing search, and they are published here as such; identification is proceeding in parallel, including DNA sampling described below.
What does the bodycam footage show?
It records the second strike arriving. 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 released the footage, Kyiv Post reported: it was recorded by an officer taking part in the evacuation of residents from a former school building on November 2, and the officer was among those killed in the attack. In the video, police officers urge residents to take shelter after receiving a warning of a second incoming attack involving guided aerial bombs, people rush into the shelter, and the recording ends as the building is struck. This article describes the footage's contents as reported; it does not reproduce the recording.
What weapons were used against the village?
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. Russian forces dropped nine glide bombs on Komyshuvakha on November 2, Kyiv Post reported, initially hitting the former school where residents had gathered to collect humanitarian aid, then launching a second wave of attacks targeting the shelter where civilians had taken cover and the rescuers and police officers who had arrived at the scene. The school was no longer operating as an educational institution — children from the settlement had been evacuated in June — and humanitarian aid was being distributed there on the day of the attack. At least four police officers and two State Emergency Service (DSNS) rescuers were among those killed, and several others were injured, including two emergency workers who were hospitalized, Kyiv Post reported.
Why is the rescue taking so long?
The search is being run under fire. The search and rescue operation has been exceptionally difficult, with Russian drones, shelling and thick smoke inside the damaged building hampering efforts to reach survivors, Kyiv Post reported, and the threat of further Russian attacks has put emergency crews at risk. Al Jazeera likewise reported that local authorities said Russian drones were hampering the search for victims in Komyshuvakha. Specialists from the regional police unit responsible for tracing people missing under special circumstances are working with victims' families to collect biological samples and create DNA profiles for comparison with those of the deceased, and police are helping relatives through the identification process. The Zaporizhzhia regional budget will cover funeral expenses for those killed, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Mykhailo Semikin, said on November 4; victims with moderate injuries will receive Hr.20,000 (about $440), and those with severe injuries up to Hr.50,000 (about $1,100) in total, Kyiv Post reported.
What has Russia said?
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. That claim is published here as the ministry's claim; it does not address the civilian toll at the aid site reported by Ukrainian police, and it has not been independently verified. Moscow and Kyiv both deny deliberately targeting civilians, Reuters reported.
What happens next?
Latvia, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in November for the first time in its history, has called for an extraordinary Security Council session over the attack, Kyiv Post reported; if convened, the meeting would put the strike before all 15 council members, including Russia, which holds veto power over council resolutions. Zelenskyy, who said the strike — which came a day after the localized ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky ended — had undermined hopes for de-escalation, appealed for air defence support: "Unfortunately, there has been very little reaction from the world to this insane attack. Evil always goes further if it remains unanswered. We are counting on a response: support for Ukraine with air defense is needed now."
This dated update is drawn from Reuters' November 5, 2026 report, opened and read in full on reuters.com, and from Kyiv Post's November 5, 2026 report, opened and read in full via its verbatim carrier Bytes Europe. The toll of 42 and the figure of up to 33 still buried are Ukrainian police figures as reported Thursday; the missing-person estimates differ between officials and are published with their dates and speakers; Russia's account of the target is attributed to its Defence Ministry and is not independently verified, per the two-source rule.
