Komyshuvakha strikes: 55 killed, 50 missing
Russian drones hit emergency crews responding to a bomb strike in southern Ukraine, while a separate attack cut power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
By Thomas Obasi ·
Ukrainian authorities reported that at least 55 people were killed in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. The attacks occurred on Sunday, November 8, near the front line. A Russian drone struck emergency workers who were on rescue missions at the site.
The initial destruction came from multiple Russian guided bombs that hit a former school and a nearby underground shelter. Residents had used the shelter while waiting for humanitarian aid. The State Emergency Service said no one was injured in the second strike by the drone. However, specialized rescue equipment was damaged in the blast.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, HUR, stated that around 50 people remained missing. Many recovered bodies have not been identified, and DNA analysis is ongoing. HUR said it had identified some of the Russian service members involved in what it called a double tap strike. Ukraine has frequently accused Russia of launching successive strikes at the same location to target emergency crews.
Mykola Krasnov, 72, a village resident, told the Associated Press on Saturday that he was still searching for his wife. She had gone to collect humanitarian aid when a 3-ton bomb was dropped. Krasnov said she was not in the morgue and was not found alive in the village. He described the lack of information from rescuers as a source of ongoing distress.
Police and relatives gathered in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday to bury six officers killed in the strikes. Four of the officers died near the former school. Andrii Khomenko, a police lieutenant colonel, said the officers used every skill at their disposal to protect themselves. He noted that when the enemy deliberately gathered civilians in one place and launched strikes, no skills could have helped.
Community leader Yurii Karapetian attended the funeral of his wife, Natalia Karapetian, who was distributing bread in the shelter when the bombs struck. Karapetian said the pain was unbearable. He urged the international community to act, stating that if Russia is not stopped, it will not stop at Ukraine. He said his wife chose to stay in the village to help elderly residents living alone.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack on emergency crews absolute cynicism and brutality on Sunday. He reported that overnight strikes on energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk region left more than 600,000 people without power. Zelenskyy said Russia launched 115 missiles, 1,900 guided aerial bombs, and more than 3,000 drones in the past week. He called for the European Union to impose a strong 22nd package of sanctions against Russia to stop missile production.
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost its external power supply on Sunday. A damaged power line was disconnected for safety, and the plant is now running on backup diesel generators. The plant went offline soon after being captured by Russia but requires power to keep essential cooling systems running. Authorities periodically report severed external power supplies, raising concerns about protracted outages.
