Zelensky said the first bombs were followed by nine more strikes, and that the repeat attack hit directly the shelter where people had taken cover. "The Russians could not have failed to know that every week the local residents who remained in Kamyshevakha receive humanitarian aid precisely there," the Ukrainian president wrote.
Mikhail Semikin, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, confirmed the death toll of 18. According to him, 27 people are considered missing and search-and-rescue operations are continuing. Military personnel, rescuers and special services staff are working at the site.
Zelensky described the attack as evidence that Russia does not want de-escalation and called on the international community to respond firmly. He noted that after the humanitarian operation in Alyoshki there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that peace was getting closer, but that with such strikes Russia "is giving an absolutely opposite signal."
The Russian military has so far not commented on reports of the strikes and the deaths of a large number of civilians.
Kamyshevakha is located near the front line and is frequently shelled.