Ukrainian officials say repeated glide-bomb strikes on a school used to distribute humanitarian aid in Komyshuvakha killed at least 26 people on Monday; Russia has not publicly commented.

At least 26 people were killed on Monday when Russian aircraft bombed a school used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, according to Ukrainian officials cited by the BBC and DW. Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000-kilogram aerial bombs hit the village, about 35 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia and roughly a dozen kilometres from the front line. Five people were injured, and 27 were initially reported missing. The Russian military had not publicly commented at the time of the reports.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack "utterly horrific" and said that after a first strike on the school, a second strike hit the place where people were sheltering. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the confirmed dead by that point included two rescuers and four police officers, and the death toll rose from an initial 18 as the day went on. Zelensky argued that Russia could not have been unaware that residents received aid at the site every week. Rescue teams searching the rubble had to pause their work several times because of Russian drone attacks in the area, and a day of mourning has been declared across the Zaporizhzhia region for Tuesday.

The strike came less than a day after a six-day local ceasefire around Oleshky in the neighbouring Kherson region expired, a pause during which nearly 800 civilians were reportedly evacuated. Zelensky said that moment had suggested peace might be possible and described the attack as a sign that Russia is not seeking de-escalation. Teams from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are due to resume peace talks within days, likely in Abu Dhabi, after negotiations were suspended in February, though the BBC reports that no major breakthrough is expected. The casualty figures come from Ukrainian authorities and could change as searches continue.