At least 24 people, including two rescue workers and four police officers, were killed in Russian strikes on a school used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS) said five other people were injured, including two rescue workers, in the November 2 attacks on Komyshuvakha, a settlement near the front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces carried out several aerial bomb attacks on the settlement throughout the morning, initially striking a school where humanitarian aid was regularly distributed to local residents.

After the initial attack, Russian forces dropped another nine aerial bombs on a shelter where people had taken refuge, Zelensky said.

He described the incident as an "exceptionally horrific strike" and said it demonstrated that Moscow had no intention of de-escalating the conflict.

"Russian forces could not have been unaware that local residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid there every week," Zelensky said.

The DSNS identified the two rescue workers killed in the attacks as Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi, both aged 44.

According to the agency, rescue workers and police officers had arrived at the scene when a further Russian strike threatened the area. The rescuers took shelter, but Russian forces subsequently attacked the same location again.

The strikes destroyed a gymnasium, an outbuilding and a fire engine, while also damaging the school building, the DSNS said.

Konovalenko had served in Ukraine's civil protection service for nearly 12 years, while Sushchevskyi had worked in fire and rescue units in the Zaporizhzhia region since 2013.

Both men had received state awards for their service. They are survived by their wives and four children between their two families, according to the agency.

Komyshuvakha lies about 20 kilometres from the front line and has been considered a front-line settlement since November 2025 amid repeated Russian guided aerial bomb attacks, according to the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center.

Russian forces frequently use guided aerial bombs, known as KABs, to strike areas near the front line.

Equipped with wing kits, the bombs can travel tens of kilometres, enabling Russian aircraft to attack targets from a distance while remaining outside the range of some air defence systems.

The latest attack adds to the dangers facing civilians and emergency personnel working in front-line communities, where humanitarian aid distribution and rescue operations remain vulnerable to continued bombardment. (ILKHA)