Russian Double-Tap Drone Strike Kills 16 in Ukrainian Mall, Officials Say
At least 16 people have been killed in a Russian double-tap drone strike on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, local officials have said. Another 130 people—including 23 children—were injured in the attack on the city's biggest mall. More people are also reported to be trapped in the rubble.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "absolutely cynical and despicable" daytime attack in his home town was carried out in "two waves," with the second strike targeting emergency workers at the scene.
Dramatic footage verified by the BBC shows the second drone hitting the already burning shopping centre in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's military has not commented.
Image: Oleksandr Hanzha / Dnipropetrovsk regional administration
Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said earlier on Friday evening that there were 15 confirmed fatalities, including two people who died later in hospital. As search and rescue efforts continued, Hanzha later confirmed another body had been retrieved from rubble by emergency workers. There are still nine people—including two children—reportedly missing in the Kryvyi Rih shopping centre, according to Hanzha on Telegram.
Earlier, Hanzha said that 130 people were injured, including 29 in a serious condition. There are fears the death toll would rise further. Rescuers teams from four other Ukrainian regions are being urgently deployed to help search for survivors.
Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul described the Russian drones as flying at "extremely low altitudes," calling the attackers "animals." He added, "There are missing people who are not responding to calls."
Image: DSNS / Dnipropetrovsk region
Four people—including three children—were killed in separate Russian attacks in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, and another two in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, local officials said. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, three people were injured when a drone exploded near a taxi, the regional head said.
This comes a day after 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured in a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv. Blocks of flats and warehouses were struck overnight across the city, local officials said. A children's hospital and school were also damaged.
Earlier on Friday, Ukraine's military said it carried out strikes on an oil refinery and a military airfield deep inside Russia. Ukraine has in recent months intensified attacks on Russian energy facilities, as well as on warehouses of the country's largest online retailer Wildberries. Kyiv describes them as legitimate targets because they help finance Russia's war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and currently Moscow controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory in the south.