Russian missiles hit shopping mall
SCORES of civilians are feared dead or injured after a Russian missile hit a crowded shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that the number of victims was ‘unimaginable,’ citing reports that more than 1,000 civilians were inside at the time of the attack.
Minutes later, Kyryl Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, said in a Telegram post that at least ten were dead and about 20 were hurt, with nine in serious condition.
Mr Zelenskyy said the target presented ‘no threat to the Russian army’ and had ‘no strategic value.’
He accused Russia of sabotaging ‘people’s attempts to live a normal life, which make the occupiers so angry.’
The strike came the day after Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for the first time in weeks, with missiles striking at least two residential buildings.
Meanwhile, Russia is mounting an all-out assault on the last Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk region, ‘pouring fire’ on the city of Lysychansk from the
ground and air, the local governor has said.
Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces were pounding Lysychansk after capturing the neighbouring city of Sievierodonetsk in recent days.
It is part of a stepped-up Russian offensive to wrest the broader Donbas region from Ukrainian government control in what western experts say has become the new main goal of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth month.
“They’re pouring fire on the city both from the air and from the ground. After the takeover of Sievierodonetsk, the enemy army has concentrated all its forces on capturing (our) last stronghold in the Luhansk region – Lysychansk,” Mr Haidai said.
The Russians are trying to blockade the city from the south, “destroying everything that their artillery and multiple rocket launchers can reach”, he added.
In recent weeks, Russian troops have captured several villages and towns south east of Lysychansk, and are trying to halt access to the city from the south.
To the west, the mayor of the city of Sloviansk – potentially the next major battleground – said Russian forces fired cluster munitions on the city after dawn, including one that hit a residential neighbourhood.
Authorities said the numbers of dead and injured are still to be confirmed.
Ukrainian forces have spent weeks consolidating their defences around Sloviansk out of concern it could be the next big Russian target if Lysychansk falls.
Last week, President Zelensky said Moscow wanted to ‘capture and completely destroy’ Sloviansk.
The shockwave from yesterday’s blast blew out most windows in the surrounding apartment blocks and the cars parked below, littering the ground with broken glass.