Russian bombing kills 18 people at Ukraine aid centre, Kyiv says

At least 18 people waiting to receive humanitarian aid in a Ukrainian village have been killed in a Russian attack that Ukraine's leader has called 'utterly horrific'.

The attack was carried out in the village of Komyshuvakha in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village; five people were injured and another 27 are still missing.

There are fears the death toll will rise further, as a number of people are still under the rubble. Semikin said rescue teams were working at the scene, confirming that people were still under the rubble.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that after the first strike on the local school 'used for humanitarian needs', there was a second attack on the place where people were sheltering.

Zelensky posted a video showing a huge crater left after Monday's attack, and rescue teams searching through the rubble.

In a post on social media, the Ukrainian president wrote that the Russians could not have been unaware that the local residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid there every week.

He said, 'This is yet another proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation.' According to Zelensky, after a recent successful joint Russian-Ukrainian operation to evacuate civilians from the Russia-occupied southern city of Oleshky, 'there was a moment when the next steps could show that peace is possible'.

Zelensky said, 'With such killings, Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings.'

The Russian military has not publicly commented on the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.