The massacre at the Komishuvakha school and the silence surrounding Russia’s crimes

Terrorism. That is what Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship has been carrying out against the people of Ukraine since February 24, 2022.

Russia murders 14 people at a station in Dnipro and two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv
Russia murders more than fifty Ukrainian civilians in two brutal massacres

On Monday, November 2, the Kremlin once again demonstrated the terrorist nature of its war of aggression against Ukraine: Russia launched guided aerial bombs at a school in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast—a school whose basement was being used as a shelter for civilians and as a distribution center for humanitarian aid. Although the basement had been built to be bombproof, Russia used high-powered munitions that completely destroyed the school and penetrated the bunker, burying many of the people who had taken shelter there. Where the school once stood, there is now a massive crater.

Search and rescue operations have now been underway for three days at the site of the Russian strike on a school in the settlement of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Russians used nine aerial bombs. They first struck people who had come to receive humanitarian aid,… pic.twitter.com/KaFinOorVy

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 4, 2026

Following the initial attack, the invaders launched a second strike aimed at killing the first responders who had arrived to assist the victims—a tactic frequently employed by Russian forces in Ukraine. As a result, two first responders, a police officer, and civilians attempting to flee after the first attack were also killed. This marks yet another war crime among the many that the Russian invaders have been committing in Ukraine. Below, you can see the funeral of one of the slain rescuers, Oleksii Sushchevskyi, a sergeant major in the Civil Protection Service. He was 44 years old and had spent 13 years saving lives as a firefighter. He is survived by his wife, an 8-year-old daughter, and a 19-year-old son.

Yesterday afternoon, the President of Ukraine indicated that 43 bodies have already been recovered from the shelter, but 53 people remain missing, meaning the final death toll from this attack could reach 96. Efforts to search for the remaining victims are ongoing, as many of the bodies are still buried beneath the rubble of the school and the underground shelter.

+ UPDATED 6.11.2026 16:40: The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has reported that 50 bodies have now been recovered during search operations among the remains of the shelter located beneath the school.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented yesterday afternoon that "almost everyone remains silent" regarding this attack, adding: "The Russians knew exactly what they were attacking. Please, do not remain silent in the face of such crimes." The President of Ukraine spoke these words at the 30th Ibero-American Summit held in Madrid. During his visit to Spain, he had the opportunity to meet with His Majesty King Felipe VI and the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.

Significantly, despite Zelenskyy’s visit to Spain, Sánchez has not posted any message on Twitter condemning this Russian massacre. Neither has the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, whose department has not even issued a brief statement condemning the attack. This is the same government that always scrutinizes everything Israel does in its fight against terrorists—whether it be Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon—and that consistently speaks harshly about the only true democracy in the Middle East. Yet, when Russia carries out a massacre resulting in nearly a hundred civilian casualties, the Sánchez government falls silent, despite its stated support for the cause of Ukraine.

The same can be said regarding how many media outlets have covered this massacre—either relegating it to the background or ignoring it altogether. Much like the Spanish government, these media outlets often fixate entirely on Israel, yet they have conditioned us to expect that whenever Russia commits a war crime in Ukraine—which happens all too frequently—the matter is treated as if it were inconsequential, or it goes unreported entirely.

For my part, I reiterate what I have been saying for years: Putin is a dictator who heads a terrorist regime, and as long as he remains in power, Russia does not deserve to be treated as a normal, democratic nation. Putin’s dictatorship must face further sanctions, and Ukraine must continue to receive military aid—aid that serves to protect its people from Russian atrocities and to expel the invaders from a country where they have no right to be. Until Russia is defeated and driven out of Ukrainian territory, we cannot claim that there is peace in Europe.

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Photos: State Emergency Service of Ukraine.