(KRYVYI RIH, DNIPROPETROVSK OBLAST, UKRAINE) – At least 15 people have been killed and 130 injured, including 23 children, in a double drone strike on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.
The attack targeted the city’s largest mall in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as “absolutely cynical and despicable.” Ukrainian authorities said a second drone struck the building approximately 30 minutes after the first, targeting emergency workers who had arrived at the scene.
Footage verified by the BBC appears to show the second drone, believed to be a jet powered Shahed, diving from the sky before hitting the burning shopping centre in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Machine gun fire can be heard as Ukrainian air defences attempted to shoot it down, but were unsuccessful.
Zelenskyy, who is from Kryvyi Rih, said the attackers had waited half an hour for emergency workers to arrive before striking again. Some images from the aftermath are too distressing to show.
An investigation will examine why the shopping centre remained open with families present in the middle of the afternoon despite an air raid alert having been issued.
The attack was not the only Russian drone strike that day. Four people were killed in Mykolaiv, including three children. The incidents expose the vulnerability of Ukraine’s air defences against both Russian missiles and drone attacks.
Meanwhile, repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil and gas supplies are having a visible impact, with long queues at petrol pumps and fuel shortages across Russia. The situation is particularly severe in Moscow, where drivers are waiting up to two and a half hours to refuel.
“To fill up with petrol right now in Moscow, you need two things: a lot of time and an awful lot of patience,” BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg reported from the Russian capital. “The petrol queues seem to go on forever.”
Fuel shortages have been reported in many parts of Russia as a result of Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities. Russia is now importing petrol, an extraordinary measure for a country that presents itself as an energy superpower.
One Moscow resident described the atmosphere: “This is not a real normal peaceful life. This permanent feeling of anxiety is with everyone right now. You feel that something is wrong. Anxiety now is the main sentiment.”
Despite the shortages, patriotic displays continue. Around the corner from one petrol station, a celebration for Russian Flag Day featured candy floss and Kalashnikovs, an event designed to rally Russians around the flag.
Pensioner Tatiana told the BBC, “Difficulties unite us. The harder things are, the stronger we get.”
However, not all Russians share this enthusiasm. Angelina said she is worried by Ukrainian drones at night. “When you go to sleep, you never know if you’ll wake up in the morning,” she said.
Ukraine has systematically targeted Russia’s energy supplies in recent months, leading to severe petrol shortages. The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has admitted the attacks are damaging the country’s economy.
Ukraine has also carried out attacks on warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Its latest strikes targeted an oil refinery and a military airfield deep inside Russia.
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