A CNN report revealed on Tuesday, November 10, some of the details of a major Russian attack that hit a civilian shelter in southeastern Ukraine on November 2.
The strike killed at least 55 people, with CNN claiming that Russian forces used a massive bunker-busting bomb to destroy an underground school where rescue workers and civilians had taken cover following a previous attack.
Su-27 Flanker Up Close. Image Credit: National Security Journal Taken on July 19, 2025.
Russian Su-27 Flanker from USAF Museum. Image Credit: National Security Journal.
The report, which used police body camera footage and cited eyewitness accounts, offers a look into the circumstances surrounding one of the deadliest Russian attacks of the war so far.
The news also comes as Ukrainian authorities work to recover bodies from the destroyed shelter.
The site is located in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian intelligence officials are also reportedly working to identify Russian military personnel who were involved in the strike, including those who ordered and carried out the attack.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to launch strikes across Ukraine, even as negotiators from Ukraine, the United States, and Russia continue to discuss a potential peace deal in Abu Dhabi.
What CNN Revealed
According to CNN, Russian forces first struck a school complex in Komyshuvakha between 9:45 am and 9:50 am on November 2.
The school had been converted into a humanitarian distribution center and was being used by local residents to collect food and essential supplies.
Police officers and emergency workers were attempting to help those who were injured during the initial bombing, but quickly received warnings that a new Russian attack was coming.
Body camera footage seen by CNN reporters shows how Ukrainian police officers Mykhailo Romanov and Dmytro Besedin attempted to save a woman who was trapped under debris before the officers and civilians descended into the underground shelter.
Then, at around 10:35 am, another bomb struck the same facility. That strike killed both officers and dozens of other people who were sheltering inside.
The CNN report suggests that the attack was deliberate, describing it as a potentially indiscriminate “double-tap” strike, in which a site is attacked for a second time after emergency personnel arrive.
The footage seen by CNN reportedly shows the explosion that killed the two officers.
Those recordings are now being used in a Ukrainian investigation into the attack.
Bunker-Busting Bomb
The report also makes the incredible claim that the weapon used to destroy the shelter was a Soviet-designed aerial bomb weighing approximately three metric tons, known as a FAB-3000.
The weapon carries over 3,000 pounds of explosives and can also be fitted with a guidance system that allows Russian aircraft to launch it from a considerable distance.
The CNN analysis said that weapon fragments and damage at the scene support Ukrainian intelligence’s assessment that it was, in fact, a FAB-3000.
The explosion left behind an enormous crater and penetrated several layers of reinforced concrete, causing the shelter to collapse.
Russian forces reportedly either knew about the scheduled humanitarian distribution at the site or had failed to establish what the site was being used for before launching the attack. Russia, however, denies deliberately targeting civilian sites.
Russia Pivots to Double-Tap Strikes
The strike in question is by no means the first instance of Russia conducting “double-tap” attacks. Russian forces have been using double-tap strikes against Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but evidence suggests that the tactic has become more common as the war has progressed.
A 2024 investigation by Ukrainian human rights organization Truth Hounds revealed that the first double-tap strike occurred on March 1, 2022, when Russian missiles hit the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building twice within 12 minutes. Those strikes killed 44 people.
The organization then verified six such attacks in 2022 and at least ten in 2023. Twenty were documented between January and August 2024 alone.
And the tactic has been used more often since.
On September 18, 2026, Russian drones struck a building in Odesa, with a second attack then taking place around 30 minutes later, even after emergency workers had arrived at the scene.
At least ten people were injured in the attack.
Maryna Averina, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian State Emergency Service in Odesa, said that the timing of the attack suggested that Russian forces may have deliberately targeted emergency workers.
Then, five days later, on September 23, Russian drones struck an office building in central Kyiv while emergency workers and journalists were at the scene.
A second drone hit the same location around one hour later, and two more drone strikes hit the building over the following 40 minutes.
Russia has also used double-tap strikes in Syria, when its military intervened in 2015 in support of Bashar al-Assad.
The Syria Justice and Accountability Center reports 58 double-tap attacks recorded during the Syrian Civil War between 2013 and 2021.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, and he produces and edits analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
