Nine people, including two children, remained missing early Saturday as rescuers dug through the wreckage of a Kryvyi Rih shopping mall struck twice by Russian drones, an attack that has killed at least 16 people and injured 130.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said search-and-rescue teams were continuing to dismantle the ruins of the shopping center through the night.
“At this moment in Kryvyi Rih, nine people are considered missing. Among them are two children,” Hanzha said.
Rescuers pulled the body of another woman from beneath the rubble after midnight, raising the confirmed death toll to 16. At least 130 people were injured, including 23 children.
Twenty-nine of the injured, including five children, were reported in serious condition. A 14-year-old girl suffering from a traumatic brain injury was transferred to a regional children’s hospital.
The afternoon attack turned an ordinary Friday at one of Kryvyi Rih’s major shopping centers into a mass-casualty scene. Stores burned as thick black smoke poured from the building and emergency crews searched for people trapped inside.
“There was smoke. Everyone was shouting,” Yuliana, an employee at the mall, told RFE/RL. She said parts of the ceiling collapsed in a parking garage where shoppers and employees had taken shelter during the air raid alert.
For the families of those still unaccounted for, the rescue operation continued into the early hours of Saturday.
Zelensky: ‘Russia must face real accountability’
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, condemned the attack as deliberate and said Russian drones struck the shopping center in two waves.
“An absolutely cynical and despicable strike was carried out by the Russians against an ordinary shopping center in Kryvyi Rih. The attack drones struck in two waves – half an hour after the first hit and the fire, there was a second strike targeting the emergency responders,” Zelensky said.
“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts. And the world must respond to them accordingly – with real pressure on the aggressor.”
Later, in his evening address, Zelensky said officials were still trying to establish the whereabouts of everyone who may have been inside the mall.
He called the attack “absolute Russian brutality” and pledged that Ukraine would respond.
“It is important that the world does not remain silent about all this,” Zelensky said.
Russia returned after rescuers arrived
Russian forces struck the shopping center twice, with the second drone hitting about 30 minutes after the first, when emergency crews were already at the scene, according to Ukrainian officials
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also accused Russia of deliberately returning to the site once rescuers were present, describing the tactic as intended to maximize casualties.
“This is pure terror,” Sybiha said.
He called for tougher sanctions against Russia’s military-industrial complex and additional defensive weapons for Ukraine.
“Sanctions and anti-missile capabilities are two tools that save lives. We need both without delay,” Sybiha said.
The strike came during another deadly day across Ukraine. Four people, including three children aged 11 and 12, were killed in a separate Russian attack in the Mykolaiv region, while Russian strikes also killed civilians in the Kharkiv region.
Bloodshed days before Independence Day
The attack came only three days before Ukraine marks its 35th Independence Day on Monday, Aug. 24 – an anniversary that this year will unfold under heightened security and amid some of the heaviest Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s Security Service has urged citizens to remain especially vigilant ahead of and during Independence Day, warning of possible Russian provocations and attacks.
At the same time, Kyiv is preparing to welcome around 10 foreign leaders on Monday in a public demonstration of international support for Ukraine.
Kryvyi Rih itself has repeatedly suffered deadly Russian attacks during the full-scale invasion. In April 2025, a Russian missile strike on the city killed 20 people, including nine children.
Now, as Ukraine approaches another wartime Independence Day, rescuers are again searching through rubble in Zelensky’s hometown.
For the families of nine people still missing, including two children, the agonizing wait for news continued.