At Least 10 Dead In Missile Strike On Crowded Shopping Mall

Scores of civilians were feared dead or wounded in a Russian missile strike Monday on a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine’s central city of Kremenchuk, Ukrainian.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the number of victims was “unimaginable,” saying there were more than 1,000 civilians inside the mall at the time of the attack.

At least 10 people were dead and more than 40 wounded, according to the Ukrainian regional governor.

Zelenskyy said the target presented “no threat to the Russian army” and had “no strategic value.” He accused Russia of sabotaging “people’s attempts to live a normal life, which make the occupiers so angry.”

The Russian missile strike echoes earlier attacks that caused large numbers of civilian casualties.

“Russia continues to take out its impotence on ordinary civilians. It is useless to hope for decency and humanity on its part,” Zelenskyy said.

Mayor Vitaliy Maletskiy said the attack “hit a very crowded area, which is 100% certain not to have any links to the armed forces.”

The attack came as Russia was mounting an all-out assault on the last Ukrainian stronghold in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province.

Russian forces stepped up longer-range strikes on the country after forcing Ukrainian troops out of the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk in recent days.

Western leaders have pledged steadfast, continued support for Kyiv. NATO will agree to deliver further military support to Ukraine.

Meanwhile Russian forces fired cluster munitions on the city of Sloviansk including one that hit a residential neighborhood.

“Everything is now destroyed. We are the only people left living in this part of the building. There is no power,” said local resident Valentina Vitkovska, in tears as she spoke about the blast. “I can’t even call to tell others what had happened to us.”

Overall, Zelenskyy’s office said at least six civilians were killed and 31 others wounded as part of intense Russian shelling against various Ukrainian cities over the past 24 hours — including Kyiv and major cities in the country’s south and east, those numbers do not include the attack in Kremenchuk.