Russian missile strikes Ukraine shopping mall with over 1,000 civilians inside
PremiumRussia was waging a full-scale assault on the final Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province of eastern Ukraine at the time of the strike.
Russian missiles struck a Ukrainian shopping centre in the country's centre, engulfing it in flames. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, over a thousand civilians were there. About 20 individuals were hurt, and at least two people died.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's "depths of cruelty and barbarism" are demonstrated by Russia's missile attack on the busy mall, according to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"Putin must realise that his behaviour will do nothing but strengthen the resolve that the UK and every other G7 country stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said.
According to United Nations (UN) spokesman Stephane Dujarric, the organisation is concerned about the escalating fighting in Ukraine and the "deplorable" attack on a mall.
"It is deplorable, to say the least. Any sort of civilian infrastructure, which includes obviously shopping malls, and civilians should never ever be targeted," Dujarric told reporters.
Russia’s missile attack on the shopping center in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk killed at least two people and injured about 20 as attacks on civilian targets get closer to the heart of the country.
Zelenskyy stated in a Telegram post that the number of victims was "unimaginable." Images from the site showed massive black smoke plumes rising from a burning shopping mall as rescue workers rushed to the area and terrified onlookers watched.
Zelenskyy said the target presented “no threat to the Russian army" and had “no strategic value." In his words, "people's attempts to live a normal life, which make the occupiers so angry, are being sabotaged by Russia."
A theatre in Mariupol where many civilians had camped out was attacked in March, killing an estimated 600 people, and a train station in eastern Kramatorsk was attacked in April, killing at least 59 people. These attacks, as well as the alleged Russian missile strike, were early in the conflict and resulted in significant numbers of civilian casualties.
“Russia continues to take out its impotence on ordinary civilians. It is useless to hope for decency and humanity on its part," Zelenskyy said.
Mayor Vitaliy Maletskiy wrote on Facebook that the attack “hit a very crowded area, which is 100% certain not to have any links to the armed forces."
Russia was waging a full-scale assault on the final Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province of eastern Ukraine at the time of the strike, "pouring fire" on the city of Lysychansk from the ground and the air, according to the local governor.
(With agency inputs)