Dozens of civilians were feared dead or wounded Monday in a Russian missile attack on a crowded shopping center in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram publication that the death toll was “unimaginable,” citing reports that more than 1,000 civilians were inside at the time of the attack. Images of the scene showed giant black smoke feathers from a mall surrounded by flames, while emergency crews rushed in and spectators stared in anguish.
At least 10 people died and more than 40 were injured, according to the regional governor of Ukraine.
Zelensky said the target posed “no threat to the Russian army” and “had no strategic value.” He accused Russia of sabotaging “people’s attempts to lead a normal life, which anger the occupiers so much.”
There are no immediate comments from Russia
Kremenchuk, an industrial city of 217,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, is located on the Dnipro River in the Poltava region and is the site of the largest oil refinery in Ukraine.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which denies that it was deliberately aimed at civilians.
Firefighters are working at a site of the Amstor shopping center affected by a Russian missile attack in Kremenchuk, Poltava region. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine / Reuters)
The alleged attack with Russian missiles echoed pre-war attacks that caused a large number of civilian casualties, such as one in March at a theater in Mariupol where many civilians had been hiding, killing about 600, and another in April at a train station. east of Kramatorsk which left at least 59 dead.
“Russia continues to eliminate its impotence on ordinary civilians. It is useless to wait for decency and humanity on its part,” Zelensky said.
Mayor Vitaliy Maletskiy wrote on Facebook that the attack “affected a very crowded area, which is 100% sure it will have no link to the armed forces.”
The G7 reaffirms its support
The development comes when the leaders of the Group of Seven Great Democracies, including Canada, said they would maintain sanctions on Moscow for as long as necessary and intensify international economic and political pressure on the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ally Belarus.
The United States said it was finalizing a package of weapons for Ukraine that would include long-range air defense systems, weapons Zelensky specifically ordered when he addressed leaders by video link from Kyiv on Monday.
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Despite the impetus of its allies, Ukraine was living another difficult day on the battlefront.
Russian bombings in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed four people and killed 19 on Monday, the regional governor said.
“Doctors are providing all the necessary assistance. Information on the number of victims is being updated,” Oleh Synehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, told the Telegram messaging app.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Russian artillery was also hitting Lysychansk, just across the Siverskyi Donets River from Severodonetsk, now in ruins.
Luhansk Province Governor Serhiy Gaidai said Lysychansk was suffering “catastrophic” damage. He urged civilians to evacuate urgently.
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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the Russians were trying to cut Lysychansk from the south. Russian warplanes had also attacked near the city, the staff said in its daily update.
Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk province make up the Donbas region, the industrial center of Ukraine. The Donbas became a major target for the Kremlin after Russian troops failed to take the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the war, which is now in its fifth month.
Russian forces also control the territory to the south, including the port city of Mariupol, which fell after a long siege that left it in ruins.