At least 16 individuals lost their lives and over 130 sustained injuries on Friday following multiple drone attacks by Russian forces on a shopping center located in central Ukraine, as confirmed by local authorities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to retaliate against what he described as a “barbaric act.”
The regional governor, Oleksandr Hanzha, disclosed that 22 children were among those injured during the daytime assault on the city of Kryvyi Rih, which happens to be Zelenskyy’s birthplace. Hanzha reported that 29 individuals, including five children, were in critical condition, illustrating the severity of the situation with a photo showing thick black smoke emanating from a large industrial structure.
In a subsequent update early the next day, Hanzha mentioned that nine people were initially considered missing, including two children, as rescue teams continued their efforts to clear the debris from the shopping center. Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “utterly cynical and despicable,” revealing that a second Russian drone deliberately targeted the shopping center half an hour after the initial strike in a calculated move to hinder emergency response efforts.
“We regard such attacks as nothing short of acts of terrorism,” Zelenskyy expressed via Telegram, calling for global accountability against Russia. He emphasized, “We will surely take action.” X’s post featured Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, denouncing the shopping center assault as a manifestation of Moscow’s malicious warfare tactics, aiming to render Ukrainian cities uninhabitable.
Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Ukraine, strongly criticized the tragic impact on civilians resulting from the Kryvyi Rih attack on Friday. He stressed the importance of upholding international humanitarian law, which prohibits indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and their infrastructure.
Additionally, reports from Ukrainian state media on Telegram detailed another lethal incident on the same day, where at least four individuals, including three children, lost their lives, and a woman sustained injuries due to a Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s southern region of Mykolaiv. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has intensified, with Russia intensifying its aerial assaults as the conflict approaches its 4-1/2-year mark on the battlefield.
In response, Ukraine has increased its offensive operations targeting Russian oil facilities and logistical networks to hinder Moscow’s military capabilities. The protracted conflict between the two nations has persisted since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.