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The death toll from the Russian airstrike on the settlement of Komyshevakha in Zaporizhzhia District on November 2 has risen to 55. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) reported this.
Over the past 24 hours, rescuers found and recovered the bodies and remains of nine more victims from beneath the rubble. Search operations are continuing. SES rescuers and canine teams are clearing the collapsed structures and searching the area despite difficult conditions and the threat of further Russian strikes, the agency said.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) said it had identified Russian military personnel involved in the airstrike on a school in Komyshevakha. According to the agency, the attack was planned by Colonel Fyodor Zubakov, head of the fire engagement group at the headquarters of Russia’s Dnieper military grouping. Four Su-34 aircraft were used in the attack.
HUR also identified six Russian pilots who allegedly took part in the strikes. They are Captains Sergey Yeliseyev and Dmitry Zverev, Senior Lieutenants Rodion Plotnikov, Nikita Ignatyev and Maksim Sokolenko, and Lieutenant Vadim Perekhrest. The identities of the crew members of another aircraft are being established.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the attack involved Tactical Aviation Group No. 5 of the special combat group of the Russian General Staff’s aviation reserve, formed on the basis of the 11th Mixed Aviation Regiment and the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment.
On November 2, at around 9:45 a.m., two Russian guided aerial bombs struck the Dzherelo school in Komyshevakha, destroying its sports hall and an outbuilding. About an hour later, Russian aircraft dropped another FAB-3000 aerial bomb on an underground part of the school, where a public assistance centre and a shelter for local residents were located.
More than 50 people are listed as missing. Search and rescue operations are continuing. Some of the bodies recovered have not yet been identified. Relatives of those missing have provided DNA samples to help identify the victims. According to preliminary estimates by Ukrainian intelligence, the bodies of around 30 more people may remain beneath the rubble.
In June, a mandatory evacuation of children was carried out in Komyshevakha. Police evacuated 11 minors from the settlement. No mandatory evacuation of the adult population was announced, but local authorities are assisting those who wish to move to safer areas.
Since the beginning of the year, police have evacuated 166 people from Komyshevakha, including 77 elderly people and 33 people with limited mobility.
According to the latest figures provided, around 200 residents remained in the settlement.