‘Cynicism and brutality’: Russia targets Ukrainian rescue workers at site of Zaporizhzhia bombing that killed 55

File photo: A residential building lies in ruins after a Russian airstrike on Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region

A Russian FPV drone struck emergency workers carrying out search and rescue operations at the site of an earlier airstrike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday, damaging specialised rescue equipment. No personnel were injured, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) said.The attack took place in the village of Komyshuvakha, where rescue operations have been underway for seven days following a Russian airstrike on November 2 that killed at least 55 people.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more people could still be trapped under the rubble of the former school and shelter hit in the earlier attack.“Absolute cynicism and brutality,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, accusing Russian forces of deliberately targeting the site while emergency crews were working there.The November 2 attack struck a former school being used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre and shelter for residents of Komyshuvakha and neighbouring villages. The facility was hit by multiple Russian guided bombs as people gathered to receive humanitarian assistance.The death toll had risen to 55 by November 7, while around 50 people remained missing, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. Many of the bodies recovered have yet to be identified, with DNA analysis underway.Among those killed were six emergency and police personnel, including two State Emergency Service workers and four police officers. Three of the police officers were killed near the former school.At a farewell ceremony in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, colleagues and relatives paid tribute to six police officers killed in the attack. Three residents who also died were laid to rest in the city.The attack on Sunday adds evidence to repeated Ukrainian accusations that Russian forces carry out successive strikes on the same location to hit emergency responders arriving after an initial attack, a tactic commonly described as a “double-tap” strike.