Deadly Russian daytime attack on shopping mall in Zelenskyy's hometown
At least 14 people have been killed and 121 others injured in a Russian Friday afternoon strike on a shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.
Hanzha said the number of casualties from the “enemy attack on Kryvyi Rig” was growing, adding that shops inside the mall were on fire.
Zelenskyy condemned the attack on social media X, which was carried out in his hometown, as "cynical and despicable", adding that it was "an ordinary shopping center".
The Ukrainian President described an attack carried out in two waves, with the second drone hitting "half an hour after the first hit and the ensuing fire, there was a second strike on the emergency services." He called on "the world" to respond "accordingly - with real pressure on the aggressor."
The attack on a busy civilian area also injured at least 22 children.
Unverified videos which have emerged on social media show victims with bleeding wounds receiving help from rescuers. Several other videos show what seems to be a second drone crashing into the already smoking building just minutes after the first strike.
The industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, which is located roughly 60 kilometres from the frontline, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks since Moscow's 2022 full scale invasion of Ukraine.
On Friday afternoon, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported one person had been killed after a Russian drone attack on the community of Bereza in the Sumy region.
Russia has increased the number of attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent months, and according to the UN, the civilian death toll has reached its highest level for civilians since the first months of the war.
On Thursday, a Russian strike on a shopping centre on the Eastern town of Kramatorsk also killed two people.
Meanwhile, Russian overnight and early morning attacks killed at least five people.
A 46-year-old woman from the village of Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, was killed after "A Russian guided aerial bomb struck" her house, Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, said on Telegram.
Further north, four people were killed, including two women aged 73 and 66, in the frontline village of Lebiazhe in the Kharkiv region after Russian drones attacked the village and sparked fires in residential areas, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration.
Moscow launched a total of 135 drones overnight on Ukraine, striking 16 locations, 107 which were downed according to Ukraine's Armed forces.
On the other hand, Ukraine reported to have hit drone storage sites, logistics warehouses, command posts and communication facilities belonging to Russian forces, situated in the temporarily occupied regions of Donetsk and Crimea.