16 killed, 130 injured as Russian drones slam into busy shopping centre in eastern Ukraine

KYIV: Russian drones slammed into a busy shopping centre in eastern Ukraine Friday, killing 16 individuals in an attack condemned as "cynical and despicable" by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Key points

• Ukrainian emergency services initially remarked the attack had killed 15 residents, wounding 130 others, 23 of them children.
• Around 10 leaders including European Council chief Antonio Costa will be in Kyiv for the coalition session, according to an EU official.
• Four more individuals, including three minors, were killed in another strike in the southern Mykolaiv region, Interior Minister Ivan Vygivsky stated on Telegram.
• Kryvyi Rig, an industrial city roughly 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the front line, has come under repeated Russian attacks throughout the war.
• The United Nations documented that the civilian death toll in 2026 had risen to its highest level since the first months of the war.

In practice, the attack on Kryvyi Rig, Zelensky's hometown, comes as Russia has intensified its bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months.

As smoke poured out of the building, videos on social media of the Kryvyi Rig incident indicated rescuers rushing to assist the wounded on the street outside.

In practice, a second drone smashed into the roof of the building around half an hour after the first — a repeat strike that Zelensky remarked in a post on X was "targeting the emergency responders".

Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, afterwards posted on Telegram that "the death toll from the enemy attack has risen to 16".

In his X post, Zelensky condemned "an absolutely cynical and despicable strike.carried out by the Russians against an ordinary shopping centre".

Notably, the United Nations documented that the civilian death toll in 2026 had risen to its highest level since the first months of the war.

Ukraine's allies are to meet on Monday to reaffirm their backing for Kyiv in negotiations held on the country's independence day.

Meanwhile, the session of the so-called Coalition of the Willing will be co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron — joining via video link — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Around 10 leaders including European Council chief Antonio Costa will be in Kyiv for the coalition session, according to an EU official. Zelensky pressed a robust response from Ukraine's allies.

"The world must respond to them accordingly — with real pressure on the aggressor. For peace to be feasible, Russia must face real accountability, " he stated.

Zelensky held a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday, updating him on Russian strikes and the civilian casualties they have caused, the Ukrainian leader remarked on X.

Notably, the European Union's top diplomat condemned the strike "as terror by design" and threatened "the most far-reaching Russia sanctions listings since the start of the war".

"Russia's attack against a shopping centre in (Kryvyi Rig) shows the absolute and utter depravity of Moscow's war, " Kaja Kallas wrote on X, claiming that Moscow "wants to make Ukrainian cities unliveable".

Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to its allies for extra backing as Russia steps up its strikes, with Ukrainian forces struggling in particular to intercept salvos of ballistic missiles.

Ukraine has additionally escalated retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, in part to try to pressure Moscow into coming to the negotiating table to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Diplomatic efforts have failed to move the two sides towards a accord, with Russia demanding sweeping territorial and political concessions from Kyiv.

Zelensky has ruled out agreeing to those terms, arguing it would amount to an effective capitulation that would leave his country dangerously exposed to another Russian attack.

In short, 16 killed, 130 injured as Russian drones slam into busy shopping centre is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.