Ukraine – Rescuers in Ukraine worked through the night searching for survivors after a Russian drone attack on a crowded shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih killed at least 16 people and injured 130 others, local officials said.
The attack took place on Friday in the central Ukrainian city, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown. Officials said at least nine people, including two children, were still missing as rescue teams continued searching through the rubble.
Zelensky described the attack as “cynical and despicable”, saying the shopping centre was struck in two waves, with the second attack apparently targeting emergency workers who had arrived at the scene following the first strike.
Dramatic footage verified by the BBC showed a second drone hitting the shopping centre while it was already on fire. Russia’s military has not publicly commented on the reported second strike.
Regional military head Oleksandr Hanzha said the death toll rose to 16 after rescuers recovered another body from the rubble overnight.
Among those injured were 23 children. Fourteen of them were still receiving treatment in hospitals on Saturday morning.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih’s defence council, said 23 injured people remained in serious or extremely serious condition, including three children aged 10, 11 and 16. He said all had undergone surgery and were receiving medical treatment.
Rescue teams from seven other Ukrainian regions were sent to Kryvyi Rih to assist with the search operation, while specially trained psychologists were deployed to support survivors and families affected by the attack.
Officials said several people were still believed to be trapped beneath the wreckage.
The overnight violence was not limited to Kryvyi Rih. Ukrainian officials reported further Russian strikes across the country, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
Zelensky said one person was killed and another injured after ballistic missile strikes damaged railway infrastructure in Kyiv. Three others were reportedly injured when a Russian drone struck a city minibus in Zaporizhzhia.
Separate Russian attacks in the southern Mykolaiv region reportedly killed four people, including three children, while two others were killed in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, according to local officials.
The attacks came a day after a major Russian missile and drone assault on Kyiv killed 17 people and injured more than 40.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said its forces had carried out overnight strikes on an oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region, where a fire was reported, as well as on a military airfield inside Russia.
Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian energy facilities and other infrastructure in recent months, arguing that such sites contribute to Russia’s war effort.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the south and east.
Publish Date: August 22, 2026
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