Rescue efforts are ongoing after Russian forces struck a bustling shopping district in the eastern town of Dobropillia on Tuesday, killing at least two civilians and injuring 27 more in what Ukrainian officials described as a deliberate attack on a crowded area.
The town’s main shopping area, situated roughly 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from the front line, was hit by a 500-kilogram aerial bomb at 5:20 pm local time in an uncommon daytime strike, according to Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.
“Firefighters are extinguishing the blaze as there is a possibility that people are still inside the shopping center,” he told Ukrainian television after the attack, per Reuters.
“The occupier dropped the bomb at a time when Dobropillia was crowded with people. Many were out shopping. The occupier specifically targeted the shopping centre. All nearby shopping centres have been either destroyed or damaged.”
The bomb destroyed 54 retail outlets, damaged 304 apartments across 13 multi-story buildings, and ignited fires that rescue crews continued battling well into the evening hours, he wrote on Telegram.
“This was a deliberate hit on a crowded area,” Filashkin wrote. “Civilians must move to safer regions. Protect yourselves and your loved ones!”
President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the outrage in statements later on Wednesday, calling the attack “simply horrific, stupid Russian terror. There is no military logic to their strikes, only an effort to take as many lives as possible.”
The attack is just the latest in Moscow’s intensifying summer aerial campaign aimed at gaining leverage over Kyiv as US President Donald Trump says he’s had enough of the Kremlin’s “bullsh*t” and will issue serious sanctions against Russia in 50 days if the country does not show signs of ending its war in Ukraine.
Footage of the destruction in Dobropilia shared by Filashkin showed smoldering buildings and shattered storefronts across the town’s commercial center. Emergency services are still clearing debris and searching for potential victims, with fears that the death toll may rise.
This is not the first time Dobropillia has suffered a major Russian strike. On March 7, Russian forces killed 11 civilians – including five children – in a similar assault that also targeted first responders in a secondary “double-tap” strike.
[All images and video from Donetsk Regional Military Administration.]