Russian Drone Strike on Shopping Mall in Zelenskyy's Hometown Leaves 15 Dead and 130 Injured

A drone attack on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih, a city in the southwest of Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, resulted in massive casualties on the local date of August 21.

The area is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has been repeatedly targeted by bombings since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to local media, a Russian military drone attack struck the Sun Gallery shopping center at around 4:30 p.m. that day, followed by a second strike 30 minutes later.

The two consecutive strikes caused a fire that burned down one-third of the entire shopping mall.

At least 15 people were killed and more than 130 others were injured. Among the injured, 23 are children, and 29 people, including five of the children, are reported to be in critical condition.

An official stated that the second strike utilized jet-engine-powered Shahed-type drones that flew at low altitudes. In a post on the social media platform X, President Zelenskyy stated, "Russia launched an extremely cold-blooded and cowardly attack on an ordinary shopping center in Kryvyi Rih," adding, "Thirty minutes after the fire broke out from the first attack, a second strike targeted rescue workers."

Later, in a separate video statement, he said, "This is a Russian atrocity, they are monsters," and vowed, "We will definitely retaliate."

The Associated Press reported that other regions, including Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, were also targeted by Russian airstrikes that day, bringing the total death toll across Ukraine to 21.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.