Dozens of civilians are feared to have been killed or injured in a Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that the death toll was “unimaginable”, citing reports that more than 1,000 civilians were inside during the attack. Photos from the scene show giant jets of black smoke from a mall engulfed in flames as emergency crews rushed in and spectators watched in distress.
At least 10 people were killed and more than 40 were injured, according to the Ukrainian regional governor.
Zelensky said the target did not pose a “threat to the Russian army” and had “no strategic value.” He accused Russia of sabotaging “people’s attempts to live normal lives, which make the occupiers so angry”.
There is no immediate comment from Russia
Kremenchuk, an industrial city of 217,000 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, is located on the Dnieper River in the Poltava region and is the site of Ukraine’s largest oil refinery.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which denies deliberate targeting of civilians.
Fire crews are working at the site of the Amstor shopping center, hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk, Poltava region. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine / Reuters)
The alleged Russian missile strike echoed attacks earlier in the war that killed a large number of civilians, such as one in March at a theater in Mariupol, where many civilians had taken refuge, killing approximately 600, and another in April at a station in Mariupol. eastern Kramatorsk, killing at least 59 people.
“Russia continues to bring its powerlessness to ordinary civilians. It is useless to hope for decency and humanity on her part, “Zelenski said.
Mayor Vitaly Maletsky wrote on Facebook that the attack “hit a very crowded area, which is 100 percent certain that it has no ties to the armed forces.”
The G7 confirms support
The development comes after leaders of the Group of Seven major democracies, including Canada, said they would maintain sanctions against Moscow for as long as necessary and increase international economic and political pressure on the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ally Belarus. .
The United States has said it is finalizing a weapons package for Ukraine that will include long-range air defense systems – weapons that Zelensky explicitly requested when he addressed the leaders via video link from Kyiv on Monday.
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The Russian shelling of the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine killed four people and wounded 19 on Monday, the district governor said.
“Doctors provide all the necessary help. The information on the number of victims is being updated, “said Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, in the Telegram news app.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Russian artillery also struck Lisichansk, just across the Seversky Donets River from now-destroyed Severodonetsk.
Luhansk Provincial Governor Sergei Gaidai said Lisichansk was suffering “catastrophic” damage. He called on civilians to evacuate urgently.
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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that the Russians were trying to cut off Lisichansk from the south. Russian warplanes have also struck near the city, the general staff said in a daily update.
Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk province make up the region of Donbass – the industrial core of Ukraine. Donbass has become a major target for the Kremlin after Russian troops failed to capture the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the war, which is now in its fifth month.
Russian forces also control territory to the south, including the port city of Mariupol, which fell after a long siege that left it in ruins.
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