Ukraine’s National Police has released bodycam footage showing residents of Komyshuvakha heading into an underground shelter after an initial strike, moments before another explosion. President Volodymyr Zelensky said 40 people had died in the attack on 2 November, as search teams continued work at the site.
The video, published on 4 November, was recorded by a police officer who was killed. It shows rubble and damaged buildings in the village in Zaporizhzhia region. A voice over a radio warns that more glide bombs are approaching, and an officer urges people to get to the shelter. The recording ends after an explosion is heard.
Ukraine’s National Police said the footage captured the moments before a repeated strike on a school being used to distribute humanitarian aid and as a shelter. The BBC reported that its Verify team matched the video’s location to images of the aftermath released by Ukraine’s emergency service.
Ukrainian officials said nine aerial bombs hit the village. The footage captures people moving toward shelter and a subsequent blast, but does not establish the type or number of weapons used. The Russian military had not publicly commented on the attack, according to the BBC.
Search continues as casualty figures change
Zelensky said more than 30 people could still be under the rubble. Ukrainian reports gave changing figures as rescue work continued; the United Nations’ human rights mission said it was still verifying the number of civilian casualties. Ukraine’s National Police said four of its officers were killed.
The UN mission said the attack appeared to contravene fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, citing the publicly announced aid distribution. It described this as a preliminary assessment, not a judicial finding. The mission’s statement said it was continuing to verify the civilian death toll.
Reid Bentley