Oleksandr Hanzha / Dnipropetrovsk regional administration

 

 

At least 15 people have been killed in a Russian double-tap drone strike on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, local officials have said.

Another 130 people - including 23 children - were injured in the city's biggest mall. More people are also reported to be trapped in the rubble.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "absolutely cynical and despicable" daytime attack in his home town was carried out in "two waves", with the second strike targeting emergency workers at the scene.

Dramatic footage verified by the BBC shows the second drone hitting the already burning shopping centre in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's military has not commented.

Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said on Friday evening that there were now 15 confirmed fatalities, including two people who died later in hospital.

He said that 130 people were injured, including 29 who were in a serious condition. There are fears the death toll would rise further.

Rescuers teams from four other Ukrainian regions are being urgently deployed to help search for survivors.

Earlier in the day, Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said the Russian drones were flying at "extremely low altitudes", describing the attackers as "animals".

"There are missing people who are not responding to calls," the mayor added.

This comes a day after 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured in a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Blocks of flats and warehouses were struck overnight across the city, local officials said. A children's hospital and school were also damaged.

Earlier on Friday, Ukraine's military said it carried out strikes on an oil refinery and a military airfield deep inside Russia.

Ukraine has in recent months intensified attacks on Russian energy facilities, as well as on warehouses of the country's largest online retailer Wildberries.

Kyiv describes them as legitimate targets because they help finance Russia's war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and currently Moscow controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory in the south-east.

 

SOURCE/AUTHOR : BBC NEWS/Jaroslav Lukiv