Key takeaways:
- Ukrainian officials said at least 15 people were killed and 130 injured, including 23 children, in a Russian drone strike on a Kryvyi Rih shopping centre.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack came in two waves and that the second drone targeted emergency workers at the scene.
- The strike followed a major Russian attack on Kyiv that killed 17 people and came as Ukraine reported strikes on an oil refinery and military airfield inside Russia.
A Russian drone attack struck a crowded shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih in two waves Friday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 130, Ukrainian officials said, in one of the deadliest recent attacks on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city.
Officials said the daytime strike hit a major shopping complex in the central Ukrainian city, setting it on fire and leaving people trapped in the rubble. Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said Friday evening that the confirmed death toll had risen to 15, including two people who later died in hospital. He said 130 people were injured, among them 23 children, and that 29 of the wounded were in serious condition.
Zelensky condemned the attack as “absolutely cynical and despicable,” saying it was carried out in “two waves.” He said the second drone hit the site after emergency crews had arrived, calling it an attempt to target rescuers.
“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelensky said on Telegram, according to Al Jazeera. “The world must respond to them accordingly – with real pressure on the aggressor. For peace to be possible, Russia must face real accountability.”
Video verified by the BBC showed a second drone striking the already burning shopping centre. Al Jazeera reported that videos shared on social media showed rescuers rushing to help wounded people outside as smoke rose from the building. Russia’s military has not commented on the attack.
Oleksandr Vilkul, mayor of Kryvyi Rih and head of the city’s defence council, said the drones flew at “extremely low altitudes” and described the attackers as “animals.” He said some people were missing and not answering phone calls.
Rescue teams from four other Ukrainian regions were being sent to Kryvyi Rih to help search for survivors. Officials warned the death toll could rise.
The strike followed another major Russian missile and drone attack a day earlier on Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials said 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured. Apartment blocks and warehouses were hit across the capital, and a children’s hospital and a school were damaged.
In a separate strike in the Mykolaiv region, four people were killed, including three children, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said, according to Al Jazeera.
Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city about 60km from the front line, has been repeatedly attacked during the war. Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months, while Ukraine has increased strikes inside Russia, including against oil facilities and logistics infrastructure.
Earlier Friday, Ukraine’s military said it had struck an oil refinery and a military airfield deep inside Russia. Ukraine has also attacked Russian energy facilities and warehouses linked to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, saying such targets help finance Moscow’s war.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Russian attacks in July, the highest monthly civilian death toll since May 2022, according to Al Jazeera.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory in the southeast.
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