Russia struck the largest shopping mall in central Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih with multiple drones on Friday afternoon, killing at least 15 and injuring at least 130, including 23 children.
Local media channels shared photos and footage of the attack, suggesting the Solnechnaya Galereya mall in the city was struck by multiple drones.
Videos circulating online show bloodied civilians being carried off from the scene of the attack.
Medics were seen attending to those injured by the attack.
Oleksandr Vikul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, confirmed the attack at 4:39 p.m. and said “many people are visually injured.”
Vikul later said the mall was repeatedly attacked by jet-powered Shahed drones “flying at extremely low altitudes” and cautioned about potential follow-up strikes.
Oleksandr Hanzha, the head of the region’s military administration, said at 5:11 p.m. that two were confirmed dead while 15 were confirmed injured before adding that casualty numbers are likely to increase.
Hanzha later said at 5:40 p.m. that 50 have been confirmed injured, while an update by the Prosecutor General’s Office said that number had risen to 52, including six children.
According to Hanzha at 6:18 p.m. the number of injured rose to 91, with 21 people seriously injured. The death toll rose to 6.
The latest update at 6:40 p.m. reported 96 people injured, including children, as Russian forces attacked four districts nearly 60 times using drones, artillery and an aerial bomb.
The Zelenodolsk and Hrushivka communities in the Kryvyi Rih district also came under attack. In Nikopol district, three people were injured. A 56-year-old woman was hospitalized in moderate condition, while men aged 32 and 52 will receive outpatient treatment.
In the Synelnykove district, a 48-year-old man was taken to hospital in moderate condition. A 51-year-old woman received outpatient treatment.
As of 7:55 p.m. Hanzha reported that the attack had killed at least 14 people and injured 121, including 22 children. Twenty-nine victims, including five children, are in serious condition.
The death toll rose to 15, while the number of injured increased to 130, including 23 children. “The number of casualties continues to rise,” Hanzha said in his report at 9:38 p.m. local time.
Zelensky condemns the strike, calls it terrorism
Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has been one of the many cities targeted by Russian strikes during Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky condemned the strike in his Telegram statement.
“The Russians carried out an utterly cynical and vile strike on an ordinary shopping center,” Zelensky said, adding that “such strikes are acts of terrorism,” and calling for partners to respond accordingly – “with real pressure on the aggressor.”
At 8:40 p.m. local time, Zelensky issued a second statement, confirming that authorities are still establishing whereabouts about people who may have been inside the shopping center when the attack happened.
“An absolute Russian atrocity” he said. “They’re just monsters. We will definitely respond.”
Separately, Zelensky spoke by with UN Secretary-General António Guterres about Russia’s continued attacks, civilian casualties and broader threats to global food security.
On Aug. 16, a Russian attack on ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest foreign-invested steelmaker, killed two workers and forced a partial shutdown of production.
One of the deadliest strikes on the city took place in April 2025, when a children’s playground was hit, killing at least 18 and injuring over two dozens.