Zelenskyy vows response after deadly Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih shopping centre
At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Russian drones hit a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, prompting Zelenskyy to vow retaliation. Further deadly strikes hit Ukraine on Friday and Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to respond after a deadly Russian drone attack on a shopping centre in his home town of Kryvyi Rih left at least 16 people dead and more than 130 wounded on Friday. In an evening video address, he called the strike an "absolute Russian atrocity," describing the perpetrators as "monsters" and pledging that Ukraine "will definitely respond." He said the world must not stay silent and called for international help to end the war.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, condemned the attack as "terror by design" and warned of the most extensive round of Russia sanctions listings since the war began. Separately, four people, including three minors, were killed in another strike in the southern Mykolaiv region on Friday, according to Interior Minister Ivan Vygivsky.
Russian strikes killed at least two more people early Saturday. Kyiv's city military administration reported a warehouse fire in the Darnytskyi district following a ballistic missile alert, saying one person died and several were injured. In Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone killed one man and wounded four others, regional military administration chief Ivan Fedorov said.
On Monday, countries allied with Ukraine are set to meet to reaffirm their support for Kyiv, with talks coinciding with Ukraine's independence day. The so-called Coalition of the Willing meeting will be co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with about 10 world leaders, including European Council President António Costa, expected in Kyiv. Zelenskyy called for real pressure on Russia and genuine accountability as a condition for peace.
Separately, Germany is seeking to extradite a suspect from Romania linked to an underground weapons cache discovered in a forest near Berlin, which German media have connected to Russian intelligence. Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation on suspicion of preparing a serious act of violence threatening national security, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.
Also on Friday, Ukraine sanctioned the popular Russian children's cartoon Masha and the Bear and its producers, a step toward banning the show, which Ukraine's culture minister described as a Russian propaganda tool.
