An official statement said that a Russian airstrike struck a shopping mall in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, on Monday, setting the building ablaze and prompting speculation of mass casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying on the day of the attack that up to 1,000 people were in the mall when it was hit by missiles, adding, “The number of victims is impossible to imagine.”
Later on Monday, the head of the Poltava region military administration, Dmytro Lunin said 10 people had died in the attack. Another person later died at hospital, taking the death toll to 11. At least 58 people were injured, officials said. Video from the scene showed heavy smoke billowing from the building which was engulfed by fire. The mall measures about one hectare — roughly the size of two football fields — and the strike occurred around 4 p.m. local time, Solohub said. “We don’t know how many more people might be under the rubble,” said Volodymyr Solohub, a regional official in the Poltava Oblast local administration.
As G7 leaders met in Germany, the summit was largely centered around coordinating the Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asserted that from that meeting that the attack foretold the “depths of cruelty and barbarism” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the UK’s Press Association reported.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking on behalf of the United Kingdom and other G7 nations, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s involvement in the attack “showed once again the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which he will sink.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, said on Twitter: “Russia is a disgrace to humanity and it must face consequences. The response should be more heavy arms for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and more businesses leaving Russia.” Those issues were on the table at the summit in Germany. The G7 vowed to continue providing support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in a joint statement, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNN on Monday that she would not “bet on Russia” winning the war.
The US plans to announce that it has ordered an advanced, medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system for the country of Ukraine as early as this coming week, a source familiar with the announcement told CNN. Russia has largely exhibited military dominance in eastern Ukraine in recent days, but Western leaders seem to have confidence in their ability to retaliate against Kremlin provocations.
Ukrainian forces have suffered many setbacks since Russian forces invaded eastern Ukraine in April. The Russian army has captured three towns in the Luhansk region, as well as territory south of Lysychansk. Russian forces also consolidated control of a belt of territory in the south, bringing strategic benefits and blunting the effectiveness of Ukrainian counterattacks. In addition, Russia has begun to launch assaults on Donetsk region cities, getting slightly closer to the belt of industrial towns in the region that runs south from Sloviansk through Kramatorsk to Kostiantynivka.”Zelensky was very much focused on trying to ensure that Ukraine is in as advantageous a position on the battlefield as possible in the next months as opposed to the next years, because he believes that a grinding conflict is not in the interest of the Ukrainian people,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said after the Ukrainian President met virtually with leaders at the G7.
Previously, a source close to the matter was reported to CNN to have said that Zelensky wants an end to the conflict by the end of the year, before winter takes hold.