Russia continues to kill people: Zelensky

At least 26 people have been killed in a Russian airstrike on a school in a village in the Zaporizhia region of southeastern Ukraine, with five others injured. They are being treated in hospital.

Rescue workers and police officers were among those killed in the attack on Monday (November 2), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country's emergency services said, Reuters reported.

According to the emergency services, two members of the rescue team and four police officers were among the dead in the attack in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhia region. Two rescue workers were also among the injured.

In a regular video address on Monday night, President Zelensky said Russian forces first dropped bombs from aircraft on a school in the village. The school was used as a shelter and humanitarian aid was distributed there to local residents every Monday.

He said the school was closed due to its proximity to the war front. The village is located southeast of the region's main city, Zaporizhia.

"When people started coming there, Russia launched the first attack. Bombs were dropped from several planes. Then a second round of more bombs were dropped, this time targeting the shelters. This was a heinous terrorist attack," Zelensky said.

He also said that the residents of Komishuvakhya gather every week to collect humanitarian aid packages, which should not be unknown to the Russian forces.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of continuing to kill people instead of continuing humanitarian efforts. Earlier, an initiative was taken to deliver humanitarian aid to the town of Oleshki in the southern Kherson region. The initiative was implemented through the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump.

"Russia is repeatedly expressing its hatred for Ukraine and everything that exists here," he said. "If Russia really wanted to de-escalate tensions, it would have had the opportunity to continue humanitarian efforts after the Oleshki incident. We made such an offer. But Russia continues to kill people."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha has opposed Russia's involvement in the international arena over the attack. He called for a boycott of the country's participation in international sports competitions in the wake of the sports court's ruling in favor of reinstating Russia's participation.

In a post on social media, Sibiha said, "Russia deserves condemnation, isolation, and punishment; not an opportunity to return to a respectable position in the international arena." He added that Russia's crimes cannot be separated from its efforts to regain its flag, national team, or international legitimacy.

Zaporizhia City Council Secretary Regina Kharchenko said 27 people were missing after the attack. Police and rescue teams were working to rescue residents trapped under the rubble, regional police said. Photos of the scene of the attack, with smoke rising from the rubble, were posted on social media.

A day earlier, a six-day local ceasefire declared to allow humanitarian aid to reach the southwestern town of Oleshki in the Kherson region and evacuate residents wishing to leave expired.