Russian missiles hit a shopping center in a central Ukrainian city, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens as attacks on civilian targets get closer to the heart of the country.
More than 1,000 people were at the mall at the time of the attack on Kremenchuk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Facebook on Monday.
At least 21 people were taken to the hospital, six of whom were seriously injured, regional Gov. Dmytro Lunin said on Telegram. The missiles were launched from long-range bombers flying over Russia’s Kursk region, Ukrainian air force command said on Facebook.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described the assault as an act of a terrorist state, while U.S. Ambassador in Kyiv Bridget Brink condemned the attack.
Russia’s first deputy representative at the U.N., Dmitry Polyanskiy, said on Twitter that the reports from Ukraine looked like another “provocation.”
Russian forces stepped up missile attacks over the past days, hitting various locations across the country, including the country’s second-largest city Kharkiv Monday evening as Vladimir Putin’s troops try to score a local victory by closing in on Lysychansk. That’s the only city in eastern Luhansk area still under Kyiv’s control.
