Russian missile hits ‘crowded’ shopping centre in Ukraine with 1000 people inside

Video from the scene shows a fireball engulfing the shopping centre in Kremenchuk, eastern Ukraine, as people flee for their lives.

At least thirteen people are dead after a missile struck a “crowded” shopping centre in Ukraine. As many as 1000 people were inside when the rocket hit. The death toll is expected to rise.

Video from the scene shows a fireball engulfing the shopping centre in Kremenchuk, eastern Ukraine.

Local mayor Vitaliy Meletskiy said the shopping centre was “very crowded”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said as many as 1000 people were inside the centre at the time of the attack and added the number of victims was “unimaginable.”

Firefighters putting out a blaze in the shopping centre hit by a Russian missile strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. Picture: AFP

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who shared video of the missile strike’s aftermath, said the shopping centre was filled with 1000 civilians. Picture: Twitter/@igorlachen

⚡️ Zelensky: 'Russia strikes shopping center in Kremenchuk, while over thousand people inside.'

“The mall is on fire, firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire, the number of victims is impossible to imagine," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram pic.twitter.com/Pb8IGeAevD

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 27, 2022

“The occupiers have hit a shopping centre with over a thousand civilians inside,” Zelensky said on Telegram.

“It is on fire, and rescue workers are trying to put out the fire, the number of victims is impossible to imagine.

“It posed no threat to the Russian army. No strategic value. People only wanted to live a normal life, which is what angers the occupiers so much.

“Out of helplessness, Russia continues to hit ordinary people. It is vain to expect it to be reasonable or humane.”

He said the Russian strike on the shopping centre was “one of the most brazen terrorist acts in European history.”

Multiple people are feared dead after the shopping centre was hit by a missile. Picture: Telegram

A video shared by Zelensky showed the shopping centre engulfed in flames with dozens of rescuers and a fire truck outside.

The Ukrainian president’s deputy chief of staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram that there were around 20 wounded so far, with nine in “serious condition”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “the world is horrified by Russia’s missile strike today.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric described the attack as “deplorable.”

“Any sort of civilian infrastructure, which includes obviously shopping malls, and civilians should never ever be targeted,” he said.

UK PM Boris Johnson slammed the attack. “This appalling attack has shown once again the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which the Russian leader will sink.

“Once again our thoughts are with the families of innocent victims in Ukraine.”

And the French foreign ministry also condemned the attack. “By indiscriminately bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure, Russia continues its appalling violations of international humanitarian law,” it wrote on Twitter. “Russia must be held accountable for its actions.”

Horror scenes in Kremenchuk, as a Russian missile hits a shopping centre. The man speaking on phone : “people were are the building, the walls are starting to fall in” pic.twitter.com/REDBFmuT3R

— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) June 27, 2022

We’re at the mall in Kremenchuk which was hit by Russia. Utter devastation. pic.twitter.com/pNxt0FhkwQ

— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) June 27, 2022

Dmytro Lunin, Ukraine’s Poltava region, regional head, described the attack as a “war crime.”

“The missile strike at a shopping centre with people inside in Kremenchuk is another Russian war crime. A crime against humanity. This is an open and cynical act of terror against the civilian population.”

He said it was “too early to talk about the final number of people killed.”

‘Deliberately timed attack’

Emergency services have published images showing the smouldering remains of the building, with firefighters and rescuers trying to clear the debris.

The Ukrainian defence ministry said the strike was deliberately timed to coincide with the mall’s busiest hours and cause the maximum number of victims.

Ukrainian firefighter extinguish a fire caused by Russian attacks on the shopping centre in Kremenchuk, Poltava region. Picture: Ukrainian State Emergency Service / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Ukrainian air force said the mall was hit by Kh-22 anti-ship missiles fired from Tu-22 bombers from the region of Kursk in western Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Kyiv’s allies to supply more heavy weapons and impose fresh sanctions on Russia.

“Russia is a disgrace to humanity and it must face consequences,” he wrote on Twitter.

Presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak accused Russia of being a “terrorist state”.

Ukraine has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over recent Russian attacks on civilians, with the strike on Kremenchuk to be the “main focus” of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Putin will attend the G20 summit in Indonesia this November, a Kremlin spokesman confirmed.

“We have received the official invitation... and we have responded positively, saying we are interested in participating,” Yuri Ushakov told reporters.