(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukraine has struck a Russian online retailer’s warehouse and an oil refinery deep inside Russian territory, prompting the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to claim Ukraine has opened a “Pandora’s box” by hitting economic targets.
The refinery is located in the Samara region, approximately 1,000 kilometres from the front line. The strikes follow a Russian double tap drone attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih that killed 16 people on Friday, with several others still missing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian strike “cynical and despicable.” The attack on the Sun Gallery shopping centre involved a first drone strike that set shops ablaze, followed by a second strike approximately 30 minutes later as rescue workers responded.
Eyewitnesses described the horror. “There was an explosion behind me. The blast wave threw me back. I fell to my knees and then ran away. It cut me from both sides,” one survivor said.
Medical staff reported the severity of injuries. “There are no patients with damage to only one organ such as a limb or a traumatic brain injury. These are all multiple injuries with damage to multiple systems and organs,” a doctor said.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Kyiv ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations on Monday, condemning Russia’s war of aggression.
“Putin has even intensified his war. He’s deliberately terrorising civilians and attacking civilian infrastructure with swarms of missiles and drones. Ukrainians feel this every day and every night, even here in Kyiv,” Wadephul said.
He added: “July was the deadliest month for civilians in over four years. These aren’t just numbers. These are human beings.”
Wadephul announced 50 million euros (£42 million / $53 million) in humanitarian aid for people living in frontline territories, including mobile heating blocks, restoration of destroyed homes and sanitary facilities. An additional 10 million euros (£8.4 million / $10.6 million) will go to a NATO fund for air defence, anti-drone systems and mobile energy systems.
France has also pledged to deliver new interceptor missiles as Kyiv’s air defences run low. French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement following a conversation with Zelenskyy.
Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius earlier gathered just under three dozen interceptor missiles for the US made Patriot system from multiple countries. However, with Russia firing an average of 100 ballistic missiles per month over the past two months, Ukraine would exhaust such supplies within weeks.
Russian attacks have intensified in recent weeks, with the capital Kyiv and cities across the country facing relentless shelling. Ukrainian authorities have limited options to adjust air defences due to inadequate weapons and insufficient interceptors.
World leaders are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Monday for Coalition of the Willing talks, with potential new aid packages expected. The agenda is likely to include air defence issues, long term strategies to end the war and additional sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet.
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