Russian strikes on a village in Ukraine's southeast killed at least 18 people on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as some of the victims were collecting humanitarian aid.
The strikes on Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region come as Moscow resumed fighting and attacks on the neighbouring Kherson region after a rare local truce brokered to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.
Komyshuvakha "has been hit several times by aerial bombs" since Monday morning, Zelenskyy said on social media.
He added that the strikes "targeted a school used for humanitarian purposes -- people were receiving humanitarian aid there."
"After the first aerial bomb strike, there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover. Tragically, 18 people have already been reported killed," he said.
Police officer and rescuers killed
Footage posted by Ukrainian emergency services shows a building reduced to piles of smouldering rubble and rescuers working at the site.
Among the killed are "a police officer and two State Emergency Service rescuers", regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said on Telegram.
"Five people have been wounded. Another 27 are considered missing," Semikin added.
Zelenskyy said the bombed building was where "every week, local residents who had remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid" and that "the Russians could not have been unaware" of that.
"After the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible. With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings," he added.
"This is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation and no real justice," Zelenskyy said.
