At Least 16 Killed in Russian Drone Strike on Ukrainian Shopping Centre
Russian drone strikes on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 130 on Friday, according to local authorities. The attack, which targeted a busy commercial complex in the city where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was born, prompted international condemnation and fresh calls for a stronger response to Moscow's aerial campaign.
Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said 22 children were among the wounded, with 29 people in a serious condition, including five children. In an update early on Saturday, Hanzha added that nine people, including two children, were considered missing and that rescuers were still clearing the rubble.
A 'Double-Tap' Attack Targeting Emergency Workers
Zelenskyy described the strike as a "double-tap" attack, saying a second drone had hit the shopping centre about half an hour after the first, in what he called a deliberate attempt to target emergency responders. In a post on social media he condemned an "absolutely cynical and despicable strike...carried out by the Russians against an ordinary shopping centre".
"Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts," he wrote, urging the world to hold Russia accountable and apply "real pressure on the aggressor".
Footage verified by the BBC shows a second drone hitting the already-burning shopping centre, and CNN geolocated video of a drone striking the building and causing a fireball. The city's mayor, Oleksandr Vilkul, said the drones had been flying at "extremely low altitudes" and described the attackers as "animals".
Death Toll Revised Upwards
The number of known fatalities was revised over the course of the day. Ukrainian emergency services initially reported 15 dead and 130 wounded, including 23 children. Hanzha later said the toll had risen to 16, a figure carried by The Guardian and the South China Morning Post. Earlier reports had cited 14 deaths and more than 120 injured, with one Al Jazeera story describing the same strike.
Regional Attacks and Wider Context
Separate Russian strikes over the same period killed four people, including three children, in the southern Mykolaiv region, according to Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi. In the Kharkiv region, a drone attack killed two women, aged 73 and 66, and wounded two others, reported The Associated Press.
The attacks on Friday came a day after a major Russian barrage on Kyiv killed at least 16 people and injured dozens, according to Ukrainian officials. Zelenskyy said Moscow had been preparing the attack for some time, combining different types of missiles and drones.
International Response
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, condemned the Kryvyi Rih strike as "terror by design" and, writing on X, she said Moscow "wants to make Ukrainian cities unliveable". She added that she was putting forward "the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war" when EU ministers meet next month.
Kallas was quoted by The Guardian, which also reported that Ukraine's allies - described as a "Coalition of the Willing" co-headed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister - are due to meet on Monday to reaffirm support for Kyiv.
Ongoing Aerial Campaign and Kharkiv Attacks
Russia has stepped up its aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities in recent months, while the frontlines remain largely static. Kyiv has appealed for more air-defence systems, and Ukraine's air force said it had shot down or suppressed 107 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight.
In a separate attack, a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's Belgorod region killed one person and wounded four others, according to regional officials. Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian drone had hit an oil refinery in Perm, and Russia's defence ministry reported intercepting drone attacks over multiple regions.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported that at least 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine in July, the highest monthly toll in the war since May 2022, according to Al Jazeera's reporting.