The State Emergency Service said the drone deliberately targeted its personnel as they worked at the site, where recovery operations have been under way for a seventh day following an air strike on November 2.
That earlier strike killed 55 people, according to the latest figures, including two rescue workers and police officers who had arrived at the scene after the first attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said "people may still be under the rubble," and the search operation continues.
Guided aerial bombs hit the building of a disused school that housed a humanitarian aid distribution point and a shelter, according to the regional military administration. It said Russian forces first used FAB-500 guided bombs and then a FAB-3000, and that a direct hit collapsed the concrete underground shelter. Zelensky said the strike was the deadliest in the past two years.
Zelensky called the new attack on rescue workers "absolute cynicism and cruelty." The Russian side has not commented on the strike.
The president also said Russian forces fired 115 missiles of various types, nearly 1,900 guided aerial bombs and more than 3,000 attack drones at Ukraine over the past week. He said a significant share of the missiles were produced this year. A overnight strike on the energy system left more than 600,000 people without power in Dnipro and the surrounding region.
Zelensky said he expects a strong 22nd European Union sanctions package, arguing that if the world lacks enough anti-ballistic defenses to protect Ukrainian skies, missiles must be stopped on the production lines.