ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE — The death toll from a Russian strike on a humanitarian aid distribution site in the village of Komyshuvakha has climbed to 40, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, two days after an attack Reuters described as one of the deadliest hits on civilians in Ukraine this year.

The strike hit the site Monday as residents gathered for aid distribution in the Zaporizhzhia region. The toll has risen steadily each day since — from an initial count of 24, through figures of 31, 33 and 37 — as rescue crews worked through the rubble, according to NBC News. More than 30 people may still be buried, and regional officials said dozens remain unaccounted for, with one local official putting the number of missing as high as 59 on Tuesday before a regional military source gave a lower figure of 58 the following evening, per UNN.

Among the dead are two members of a rescue crew and four police officers, underscoring the risk facing emergency responders returning to strike sites that are sometimes hit again. Zaporizhzhia region has declared November 3 through 5 as official days of mourning.

THEY WASTED THE OPPORTUNITY WE CREATED

A ceasefire squandered, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike came just days after a ceasefire and humanitarian evacuation mission in the front-line village of Oleshky, arguing Russia had wasted the goodwill created by that pause to carry out one of the deadliest attacks on civilians of the war's latest phase, according to a wire roundup of the latest figures. Search-and-rescue operations continued into Wednesday, with crews using heavy equipment to clear collapsed structures in hopes of finding survivors.

Different Ukrainian sources have given slightly different running tallies as the count has been updated — one regional figure put an earlier count at 37 versus a separately reported 40 — reflecting the chaotic, ongoing nature of recovery efforts rather than any dispute over the scale of the attack itself.

What's next

Rescue operations are expected to continue for several more days as crews work through the rubble, officials said, and the final toll is likely to rise further given the number still listed as missing. Ukraine's government has not announced a specific retaliatory response, though the strike is expected to feature prominently in Kyiv's appeals to Western allies for additional air-defense support heading into the winter.