At least 16 individuals lost their lives and over 130 sustained injuries on Friday due to multiple Russian drone strikes targeting a shopping center in central Ukraine, as confirmed by authorities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the incident as an “act of barbarism” and vowed to take action in response.
The regional governor, Oleksandr Hanzha, reported that among the casualties from the attack in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, were 22 children. Hanzha further disclosed that 29 people, including five children, were in critical condition following the daytime assault, illustrating the severity of the situation with a photo showing black smoke emanating from a large industrial building.
As of an update provided early on Saturday, Hanzha indicated that nine individuals, including two children, were currently considered missing. Rescue efforts were ongoing to clear the debris at the shopping center site.
Zelenskyy denounced the attack as “absolutely cynical and despicable,” highlighting that a second Russian drone struck the shopping center shortly after the initial attack, suggesting a deliberate targeting of emergency response services. Characterizing such acts as terrorism, Zelenskyy emphasized the necessity of holding Russia accountable and asserted that Ukraine would retaliate.
In a statement on the social media platform X, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, condemned the assault on the shopping center as a display of Moscow’s ruthless conduct in the ongoing conflict. Kallas described the attack as part of Russia’s strategy to render Ukrainian cities uninhabitable.
Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, expressed dismay over the civilian casualties resulting from the attack in Kryvyi Rih, emphasizing the importance of upholding international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
In a separate incident on the same day, Ukrainian state media reported that at least four individuals, including three children, were killed, and a woman was injured in a Russian drone strike in Mykolaiv, a southern region of Ukraine. Amid the prolonged conflict, both Russia and Ukraine have escalated their military actions, with recent incidents including a Russian missile attack that claimed 17 lives in Kyiv and Ukrainian counterattacks targeting Russian oil facilities and logistical assets.
The conflict between the two nations has persisted since Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the latest incidents underscoring the escalating violence and humanitarian toll of the ongoing warfare.