At least 15 people were killed and more than 130 wounded yesterday when several Russian drones struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, authorities said, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promising a response to what he called an “act of barbarism.”
Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said that 22 children were among the wounded in the daytime attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelenskiy’s hometown.
“There are 29 people in serious condition, including five children,” Hanzha said. He posted a photo of black smoke billowing from a large industrial building.
Zelenskiy called the attack “absolutely cynical and despicable”, saying that a second Russian drone hit the shopping centre half an hour after the first in what he said was a deliberate attempt to target emergency services.
“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram, urging the world to hold Russia to account. “We will definitely respond.”
In a separate attack yesterday, at least four people, including three children, were killed and a woman was wounded after a Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s southern region of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian state media said on Telegram.
Russia is escalating its air war on Ukraine as fighting on the battlefield grinds towards the 4-1/2-year mark.
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.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will co-chair a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing group of pro-Ukrainian countries on Monday.
Zelenskiy will be at the meeting in Kyiv, which will be attended both in person and remotely, Macron’s office said yesterday, without specifying who will be there in person.
“The leaders will reiterate their determination to strengthen their support for Ukraine so that it can defend itself against Russian aggression,” Macron’s office said in a statement.
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