Intelligence identifies names of pilots and officer responsible for attack on Komyshuvakha

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has published the results of an investigation documenting the involvement of specific Russian military personnel in the tragic events in the settlement of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to the security service, a deliberate airstrike on a local school, where civilians were receiving humanitarian aid, resulted in the deaths of at least 55 people. More than 50 others are missing.

Timeline and consequences of the shelling

On 2 November 2026, at 09:45, two Russian guided aerial bombs hit the Komyshuvakha "Dzherelo" Gymnasium. The strike destroyed the sports hall and an outbuilding. An hour later, the occupiers dropped another heavy FAB-3000 aerial bomb on the gymnasium's underground facility, which was being used as a resilience point and shelter for local residents.

Due to the explosion, people were trapped under the rubble. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and some of the bodies have not yet been identified. DNA samples have been collected from the relatives of the missing to establish the identities of the deceased. Preliminary estimates suggest that the bodies of approximately 30 more victims may be under the debris.

The planner and the aviation unit

According to military intelligence data, the strike on Komyshuvakha was planned by Colonel Fedor Volodymyrovych Zubakov, who held the position of head of the fire strike group in the headquarters of the "Dnipro" grouping of forces of the Russian occupation army.

Four Su-34 aircraft were used to carry out the crime. Specifically, the 5th Tactical Aviation Group of the Special Combat Group of the Reserve Aviation Grouping of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was involved in the bombing of the settlement on 2 November 2026. This group was formed on the basis of the 11th Mixed Aviation Regiment (unit 77978) of the 4th Mixed Aviation Division and the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 1st Mixed Aviation Division of the 4th Army of the Air Force and Air Defence of the Air and Space Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Identified pilots

Ukrainian intelligence has established the names of the Russian pilots who carried out these drops:

• Captain Serhiy Oleksandrovych Yeliseyev;
• Captain Dmytro Andriyovych Zverev;
• Senior Lieutenant Rodion Serhiyovych Plotnikov;
• Senior Lieutenant Mykita Viktorovych Ignatiev;
• Senior Lieutenant Maksym Viktorovych Sokolenko;
• Lieutenant Vadym Olehovych Perekhrest.

The crew of another Russian aircraft is currently being identified.

«ГУР МО України нагадує - за кожен скоєний проти українського народу воєнний злочин буде справедлива відплата» (The GUR of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reminds that there will be just retribution for every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people), the intelligence statement noted.