On a Friday afternoon in Kryvyi Rih — the hometown of President Zelenskyy — Russian drones struck the city's largest shopping centre, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 120, among them 22 children. A second drone arrived thirty minutes later, as rescuers were still pulling survivors from the smoke, which Zelenskyy interpreted as a deliberate strike against those who came to help. The attack is not an isolated moment but a chapter in a war that, in July alone, claimed 437 civilian lives — the highest monthly toll in over four years. It raises, once again, the oldest and most unan
Russian drones strike Ukrainian shopping centre, killing 14 in Zelenskyy's hometown
At least 14 civilians killed and 121 wounded in shopping centre attack; additional four killed in separate strike including three children.
Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts
Mark
Why does Zelenskyy's hometown matter here? Does it change the nature of the attack?
Mimi
It matters because it personalizes the war for him. He's not just a president reading casualty reports—he's a man whose city is being targeted. It adds weight to his condemnation, makes it less abstract.
Mark
The second drone hit 30 minutes later. How confident is he that it was deliberate?
Mimi
He's stating it as fact, but the evidence is circumstantial. The timing is suspicious—right when rescuers would be arriving. But drones do get intercepted and fall randomly. What matters is that he's framing it as a deliberate targeting of emergency workers, which would be a war crime.
Mark
121 injured, 22 children. Does the presence of children change how we should read this?
Mimi
It does and it doesn't. Children are civilians like anyone else, but yes, their presence in a shopping centre on a Friday afternoon makes it harder to argue the target was military. It underscores the randomness of civilian life being interrupted by war.
Mark
Ukraine is attacking Russian warehouses. Is this retaliation?
Mimi
That's the cycle. Ukraine strikes Russian logistics to weaken Moscow's war machine. Russia responds by hitting Ukrainian cities. Both sides claim the other started it. The shopping centre becomes collateral in that larger war of attrition.
Mark
437 civilians killed in July alone. Why is that number important?
Mimi
It's the highest monthly toll since May 2022. It suggests the war is not stabilizing—it's intensifying. The attacks are getting worse, not better. That's the trajectory everyone should be watching.
Il Polso
- Russian drones struck Kryvyi Rih's largest shopping complex on a Friday afternoon, killing at least 14 people and wounding 121, including 22 children — 29 of them in critical condition by nightfall.
- A second drone hit the same site thirty minutes later, as emergency workers were still pulling survivors from the rubble, prompting Zelenskyy to accuse Russia of deliberately targeting rescuers.
- The same day, a separate strike in the Mykolaiv region killed four people, three of them children, deepening the sense that Russian bombardment of civilian life is widening in scope and intensity.
- Zelenskyy, whose own hometown was struck, called the attacks terrorist acts and demanded the international community impose real consequences on Russia — not merely words of condemnation.
- A coalition of 34 allied nations was set to convene on Ukrainian independence day, with the Kryvyi Rih attack sharpening the pressure on partners to move from solidarity to decisive action.
On a Friday afternoon in Kryvyi Rih — the hometown of President Zelenskyy — Russian drones struck the city's largest shopping centre, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 120, among them 22 children. A second drone arrived thirty minutes later, as rescuers were still pulling survivors from the smoke, which Zelenskyy interpreted as a deliberate strike against those who came to help. The attack is not an isolated moment but a chapter in a war that, in July alone, claimed 437 civilian lives — the highest monthly toll in over four years. It raises, once again, the oldest and most unanswered question of modern conflict: who, in the end, will be held to account.
On a Friday afternoon, Russian drones struck Kryvyi Rih's largest shopping centre, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 120. Among the injured were 22 children; 29 people were left in critical condition. The complex caught fire, and rescuers moved through the smoke to reach the wounded in the rubble and streets.
The attack did not end with the first strike. Thirty minutes later, a second drone hit the same location — arriving precisely as emergency workers had gathered to help survivors. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, saw the timing as intentional. He called the assault a terrorist act, describing it as cynical and deliberate, and demanded that the international community apply real pressure on Russia rather than offer condemnation alone.
The same day, a strike in the Mykolaiv region killed four people, including three children. Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city roughly 37 miles from the front line, has endured repeated attacks throughout the war. Video from the shopping centre showed the chaos of rescue operations — people guided through smoke-filled streets, the building burning behind them.
The strikes fit a broader pattern of escalation. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported that July saw at least 437 civilians killed in Russian attacks — the highest monthly toll since May 2022. With a coalition of 34 allied nations set to meet on Ukrainian independence day, the attack on Kryvyi Rih sharpened an already urgent question: whether the world would meet Zelenskyy's call for accountability, or whether the cycle of violence would simply grind on.
On a Friday afternoon in Kryvyi Rih, Russian drones descended on the city's largest shopping centre. The strike was sudden and devastating. At least 14 people died in the initial impact, and more than 120 others were wounded—among them 22 children. By evening, local authorities confirmed that 29 of the injured were in critical condition. The shopping complex caught fire. Rescuers rushed into the smoke to pull people from the rubble and streets.
Oleksandr Vilkul, who heads the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, reported the attack on Telegram with grim precision: the time, the location, the numbers. But the strike did not end there. Thirty minutes after the first drone hit, a second one struck the same shopping centre. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose hometown is Kryvyi Rih, saw in that timing something deliberate. He believed the second attack was meant to target the emergency workers who had arrived to help the wounded. "Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts," he said, calling the assault "cynical and despicable." He demanded that the world hold Russia accountable, that real pressure be applied to the aggressor, and that Russia face consequences if peace was ever to be possible.
The same day brought another strike, this one in the Mykolaiv region to the south. Four people died there, including three children. The pattern was becoming clearer: Russia was intensifying its bombardment of Ukrainian cities, and civilians—shoppers, families, children—were bearing the cost.
Kryvyi Rih sits roughly 37 miles from the front line. It is an industrial city that has endured repeated Russian attacks throughout the war. Video footage from the shopping centre showed the chaos of rescue operations—people being helped through the streets, smoke pouring from the building. Whether the mall was the intended target remained unclear; drones are sometimes intercepted and can fall unpredictably. But the video evidence suggested the attack was precise, not accidental.
The broader context made the strike part of a larger escalation. Ukraine has been stepping up its own attacks in recent weeks, targeting Russian warehouses linked to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer. Moscow has responded by intensifying strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported that in July alone, at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Russian attacks—the highest monthly death toll since May 2022. The war was grinding on, and the toll on ordinary people was mounting.
On Monday, Ukrainian independence day, a coalition of 34 nations allied with Ukraine was scheduled to meet and reaffirm their support for Kyiv. The attack on Kryvyi Rih's shopping centre had sparked outrage. Some were calling it a blatant act of terror, demanding that Ukraine respond in kind. The question now was whether the world would match Zelenskyy's call for accountability, or whether the cycle of attack and counterattack would simply continue.
Citazioni salienti
Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts. The world must respond to them accordingly—with real pressure on the aggressor.— President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemning the strike on his hometown
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Al Jazeera ↗
War & Conflict