At least 18 people have been killed and several others injured in a Russian missile attack on a shopping mall in Ukraine’s Kremenchuk city, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
Footage shared on social media showed a massive fire and smoke billowing into the sky after Monday’s attack on an Amsterdam shopping mall.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 1,000 civilians were inside the mall at the time of the attack.
“Unfortunately, as of now, 18 people have been killed in the Russian strike,” Dmytro Lunin, governor of the central Poltava region, said on Telegram, adding that 36 people are missing as rescuers continue searching through the rubble.
“More than a thousand people worked all night on the ruins – rescuers, police, medics, and volunteers,” he said.
Meanwhile, city mayor Vitaly Maletsky declared three days of mourning in the city.
While the West condemned the attack, Zelensky called it “one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history” and that Russia has become “the world’s largest terrorist organization”.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said that Maul was hit by two long-range X-22 missiles fired from Tu-22M3 bombers from the Shykovka airfield in Russia’s Kaluga region.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said the world’s response should be “more heavy weapons for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and more businesses leaving Russia”.
“NATO-style anti-missile systems will prevent new tragedies,” the country’s defence ministry said.
According to the UN, more than 4,700 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began on February 24, while more than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes.