Ukraine Names Russian Su-34 Pilots Behind Double-Tap Bomb Attack on School That Killed at Least 55

Ukrainian military intelligence has identified six Russian pilots and a senior officer allegedly responsible for an airstrike involving three-ton bombs on a school in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, that killed at least 55 civilians.

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) on November 7, four Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers participated in the November 2 attack, targeting a school where civilians were receiving humanitarian assistance.

The strike was allegedly planned by Colonel Fyodor Zubakov, head of the fire engagement group at the headquarters of Russia’s Dnepr military grouping.

HUR reported that the aircraft belonged to Tactical Aviation Group No. 5, formed from Russia’s 11th Composite Aviation Regiment and 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Ukrainian intelligence identified six Russian aircrew members involved in the attack:

• Captain Sergei Yeliseyev;

• Captain Dmitry Zverev;

• Senior Lieutenant Rodion Plotnikov;

• Senior Lieutenant Nikita Ignatyev;

• Senior Lieutenant Maksim Sokolenko;

• Lieutenant Vadim Perekhrest.

The agency is still working to identify the crew of another Russian aircraft involved in the operation.

Two Russian FAB-3000 guided aerial bombs struck the Dzherelo Gymnasium at approximately 9:45 a.m. on November 2, destroying its gymnasium and an auxiliary building. About an hour later, another FAB-3000 struck an underground section of the school housing a civilian shelter and a resilience center.

The FAB-3000 is a Soviet-designed, three-ton-class aerial bomb modified with a guidance and glide kit, allowing Russian aircraft to release it from a distance. Civilians were receiving humanitarian aid at the school when the attack occurred, leaving multiple people trapped beneath the rubble.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported on November 7 that the death toll had risen to 55 after rescuers recovered the remains of nine additional victims over the preceding 24 hours.

Search-and-rescue operations continued for a sixth consecutive day, while authorities collected DNA samples from relatives of missing residents to identify victims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that Russian forces could not have been unaware that civilians regularly gathered at the school to receive humanitarian assistance.

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