33 killed in Ukraine village

KYIV:

At least 33 people were killed when Russian forces bombed a school being used as an aid distribution point in a village near the front line in Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

About 50 people are believed to still be buried under the rubble following the attack in the village of Komyshuvakha, Zelenskiy told a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Zelenskiy had previously said that Russian forces initially dropped aerial bombs on the school, which was being used as a shelter and for distributing humanitarian assistance every Monday.

There were no classes at the school, he said, as the village, lying southeast of the region's main city, also called Zaporizhzhia, was too close to the front line in the 4-1/2-year-old war.

"The Russians struck first just as people were arriving – a few aerial bombs," he said. "Then there was a second strike – more air bombs, this time on the shelter. A vile terrorist strike."