Russian forces struck a school serving as a humanitarian aid distribution center in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, killing at least 24 people and injuring five others.

Ukrainian State Emergency Service officials confirmed the death toll, which includes two rescuers and four police officers. Twenty-seven people were initially reported missing. The attack involved at least nine 3,000-kilogram aerial bombs, according to regional head Mykhailo Semikin.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the incident as an exceptionally horrific strike. He stated that Russian forces first hit the school where residents regularly received humanitarian aid, then conducted a follow-up strike with nine additional bombs on a shelter where people had taken cover.

Zelenskyy noted that Russian forces could not have been unaware of the site's weekly use for aid distribution. He called the attack further proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation.

The village lies about 25 kilometers east of Zaporizhzhia city and roughly a dozen kilometers from the front line. Rescue operations continued into the evening amid reports of additional drone activity in the area.

Russia has not publicly commented on the strike. The incident occurred as a limited humanitarian ceasefire expired in the neighboring Kherson region.

This attack highlights the ongoing risks to civilians in areas near the conflict zone, where aid efforts have persisted despite the fighting.