Zelensky vows revenge for devastating Russian strikes that killed 16 in shopping center: ‘Animals’
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed revenge Saturday for Russia’s “cynical and despicable” double-tap drone strike on a shopping center that killed 16 and injured more than 130 while nine others still missing.
The crippling Friday attack — in Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih — was followed Saturday by fresh Russian airstrikes that killed at least six more civilians across Ukraine including a 12-year-old boy and three children.
“Only Russia is the source of this war, the reason the war is being dragged out, and it deserves all retaliatory strikes and pressure for everything it does against life and people, against diplomacy, against partners,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Our response will be tangible – through our special services, through our intelligence agencies, through political cooperation with our partners, and, in particular, through sanctions.”
Oleksandr Hanzha, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said that 22 children were wounded and two children are missing after the shopping center blitz — while 52 people, including 14 children, were still in hospitals as of Saturday.
“There are 29 people in a serious condition, including five children,” Hanzha said, adding that efforts were underway to help children trapped in the rubble, according to the Independent.
“We’re doing everything possible to speed up … the search and rescue operation,” he said on Ukrainian TV Saturday morning.
Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vikul said that Russian drones were flying at low altitudes and described the assailants as “animals,” adding that “there are missing people who are not responding to calls.”
The rescue effort will continue for another two days due to the constant threat of further Russian attacks — and the sheer scale of the destruction, which included a 9,000-square-meter fire at the shopping center.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit three targets deep inside Russia overnight Saturday, setting fire to an Ozon logistics warehouse — a first-ever strike on Russia’s second-largest online marketplace — forcing the evacuation of more than 500 workers.
Ukraine also struck an oil refinery in the same region and attacked an airbase in occupied Crimea.
The tit-for-tat strikes came as Zelensky prepared to join the Coalition of the Willing in Paris Monday to discuss post-ceasefire security guarantees, while Russian strongman Vladimir Putin continues to rely on North Korean troops in the war.
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Pyongyang’s forces now number more than 8,500 in the war, including roughly 400 drone operators, according to Western intelligence assessments.
But Putin could seek another 50,000 troops, according to reports.
Moscow’s forces have intensified ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, taking advantage of Ukraine’s consistent shortage of American-made Patriot interceptors — the only tool they have to shoot down the missiles.
“Every day that Ukraine lacks sufficient air defense means casualties that could have been prevented,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Protecting lives requires daily decisions and effective support from the world, and right now, new supplies of ballistic missile interceptors and other missiles can help.”