Russian drone attack on busy shopping centre kills ۱۴ in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slams ‘cynical and despicable’ attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih that injured over ۱۲۰.

Russian drones have hit a busy shopping centre ⁠in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least ⁠۱۴ people and wounding more than ۱۲۰.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, said on Telegram that Friday’s strikes targeted the city’s largest shopping complex, sparking a fire. The death toll as of ۸pm local time (۱۷:۰۰ GMT) was ۱۴, with ۱۲۱ injured, including ۲۲ children. Vilkul said ۲۹ of those injured were in critical condition.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack on his hometown as “cynical and despicable”.

He said a second Russian drone hit the shopping centre ۳۰ minutes after the first, in what he claimed was a ⁠deliberate attempt to target emergency ⁠services.

“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, urging the world to hold Russia to account.

“The world must respond to them accordingly – with real pressure on the aggressor. For peace to be possible, Russia must face real accountability,” he added.

Videos on social media showed rescuers rushing to help the wounded on the street outside, as smoke billowed from the building.

Meanwhile, a separate Russian strike in the Mykolaiv region killed four people, including three children, the country’s Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said.

‘Blatant act of terror’

Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine, reporting from Kyiv, said the attack on Kryvyi Rih’s second-largest mall had sparked outrage. “Some are calling it a blatant act of terror, saying Ukraine must respond to it accordingly.”

Macalpine said it was unclear whether the mall was the intended target – as drones are at times intercepted and can fall haphazardly – but that video footage suggested the attack was deliberate.

Macalpine noted that Ukraine has been stepping up attacks in recent weeks on Russian warehouses linked to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, drawing Moscow’s ire.

Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city that lies roughly ۶۰km (۳۷ miles) from the front line, has come under repeated Russian attacks throughout the war.

Russia has intensified its bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months. Ukraine has also ‌stepped up its own attacks on Russia, targeting oil facilities and logistics infrastructure to try ‌to ‌undermine Moscow’s ability to wage war.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that at least ۴۳۷ civilians were killed and another ۲,۶۱۰ injured in Russian attacks in July. That is the highest monthly civilian death toll since May ۲۰۲۲.

Countries allied with Ukraine – the ۳۴-member so-called “coalition of the willing” – will meet to reaffirm support for Kyiv on Monday, Ukrainian independence day.