Russian drones set fire to the biggest shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih, a steel city in central Ukraine. Half an hour later, they came back for the rescue crews.
The Russian military attacked Kryvyi Rih’s largest shopping mall, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s defense council. Videos posted on social media indicate the target was Sonyachna Halereya (“Sunny Gallery”), where a major fire broke out after the strike.
The Russian attack has killed 15 people and wounded 130. These are the most recent figures from Ukrainian authorities, though they may not be final while the search-and-rescue operation continues. Of the wounded, 29 — including five children — are in serious condition. In all, 23 of the injured are children.
We updated the casualty figures after receiving new information.
“Strikes like this are simply acts of terrorism,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Drones struck the mall in two waves, he said: “Half an hour after the first hit and the fire, a second strike hit the rescue crews.”
Russia is deliberately targeting places where civilians gather, added Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets: “People came to the mall to shop, to work, or to spend time with loved ones. That means nothing to Russia. The Russian military is once again proving that it sees civilians as a [deliberately chosen] target in this war.”
Warehouses at Sonyachna Halereya were allegedly being used for the benefit of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Russian “war correspondent” Yury Kotenok. The Russian Defense Ministry has used this argument before to justify strikes on privately owned Ukrainian businesses. Ukraine, for its part, has cited a similar reason for attacking warehouses belonging to Wildberries, a Russian online marketplace.
Russian forces carried out the previous major strike on Kryvyi Rih on August 16, hitting the city’s industrial plants with missiles and drones. The attack killed two people and wounded 14 others. Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical plant, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, was reportedly damaged in the strike.
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