SLOVIESK, Ukraine (AP) – Several civilians are feared killed or injured in a Russian missile attack on a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine’s central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, officials said.
Ukraine’s 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. Images from the scene showed huge plumes of black smoke billowing from a shopping center engulfed in flames, as emergency crews rushed in and onlookers watched in distress.
The governor of Poltava Oblast, where the mall is located, Dmitry Lunin, said at least 10 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in the Russian attack.
Zelensky said the target “presents no threat to the Russian military” and has “no strategic value.” He accused Russia of “sabotaging the efforts of the people to lead a normal life”, which has angered the occupiers.
The alleged Russian missile attack echoed earlier attacks in the war, which resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties – such as one in March at a Mariupol theater where many civilians were hiding, killing an estimated 600, and another in April. Happened at the train station. in East Kramatorsk, in which at least 59 people were killed.
“Russia continues to impose its impotence on ordinary citizens. It is useless to expect decency and humanity on its part,” Zelensky said.
Firefighters work to put out a fire at a shopping center lit up after an alleged rocket attack by Russia in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on June 27, 2022. (Ukrainian State Emergency Service via AP)
Mayor Vitaly Maletsky wrote on Facebook that the attack took place in a “very congested area, which is 100% certain that it has nothing to do with the armed forces.”
The attack came as Russia was launching an all-out attack on Ukraine’s previous stronghold in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province, “pouring fire” from the ground and air into the city of Lisichansk, according to the local governor.
A large shopping mall with hundreds of civilians in Kremenchuk has been hit by a Russian attack. Russia is a blot on humanity and there will be consequences. The response should be more heavy weapons for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and more businesses leaving Russia. pic.twitter.com/Uvi6fbyShK
— Dimitro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 27, 2022
Russian forces intensified long-range strikes on the country in recent days after evacuating Ukrainian troops from the neighboring city of Svyarodonetsk.
Meanwhile, Western leaders promised firm and continued support for Kyiv. According to the general secretary of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO will agree to provide more military aid to Ukraine – including secure communications and anti-drone systems – when its leaders convene for a summit in Spain.
The battles for Svyarodonetsk and Lisichansk are part of a step-up Russian offensive to seize the wider Donbass region from Ukraine.
A police officer and paramedic give first aid to a woman injured by Russian shelling at the city center in Slavyansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on June 27, 2022. (AP photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Meanwhile to the west, the mayor of the city of Sloviansk – potentially the next major battleground – said Russian forces opened cluster shelling on the city after dawn, including a residential neighborhood.
Officials said the number of dead and wounded in Sloviask was not yet confirmed. The Associated Press witnessed one death: a man’s body rested on the door frame of a car, his blood pooled on the ground from chest and head wounds.
The blast blew away most of the windows of nearby apartment blocks and cars parked below, leaving broken glass on the ground.
“Everything is destroyed now. We are the only people living in this part of the building. There is no power, ”Valentina Witkowska, a local resident, said in tears, talking about the explosion. “I can’t even call others to tell us what happened.”
Firefighters work to put out a fire at a shopping center lit up after an alleged rocket attack by Russia in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on June 27, 2022. (Ukrainian State Emergency Service via AP)
In all, Zelensky’s office said that at least six civilians were killed and 31 others wounded as part of intense Russian shelling against various Ukrainian cities in the past 24 hours – including Kyiv and the head of the country’s south and east. Cities are included, but not counting the attack in Kremenchuk.
It said Russian forces fired rockets overnight in and near Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, killing two and wounding five, and continued to target Odessa’s major southern port. A missile attack destroyed residential buildings and injured six people, including a child.
The regional governor said that in Lysychansk, at least five high-rise buildings in the city and the last road bridge were damaged. An important highway connecting the city to government-held territory to the south was made impassable by the shelling.
The city had a pre-war population of about 100,000, about one-tenth of the survivors.
Analysts say that Lisichansk’s location on the banks of the Siversky Donets River gives the Ukrainian defenders of the elevated city a major advantage.
“It’s a very hard nut to crack. The Russians attacked Lisichansk for several months and a lot of effort,” said military analyst Oleh Zhdanov.
In other developments, in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, leaders of the Group of Seven pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “as long as it takes”.
In a joint statement on Monday after holding a session by video link with Zelensky, the leaders “underlined their unwavering commitment to supporting the government and people of Ukraine in the daring defense of their country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “
The Group of Seven leaders during a group photo at the G7 summit at Castle Elmau in Kruen, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on June 26, 2022. (Marcus Schreiber/AP)
Meanwhile, the US appeared ready to respond to Zelensky’s call for more air defense systems after Russian troops struck Kyiv with long-range missiles on Sunday. Washington was expected to announce the purchase of an advanced surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said the war was likely to become more dependent on Russia’s reserve forces in the coming weeks.
Analysts have said Russia’s call for reservists could substantially shift the balance in the war, but could also come with political consequences for the government of President Vladimir Putin.
