Rescue teams worked through the night searching for survivors amid the rubble of a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central-southern Ukraine, hit by an attack with Russian drones. Local authorities reported at least 16 deaths and 130 wounded on Friday, with nine people still missing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, originally from Kryvyi Rih, described the attack as "cynical and despicable" and said it was carried out in two phases. Zelensky indicated that the second offensive was directed at emergency workers present at the site. Images verified by the BBC showed the second drone striking the burning shopping centre.
Regional military chief Oleksandr Hanzha reported that 23 children were among the wounded. Hanzha said that 29 people were in serious condition after another body was found during Friday night. Kryvyi Rih mayor Oleksandr Vilkul stated that the Russian drones were flying at "extremely low altitudes" and noted that there were missing people who were not answering calls.
Local authorities also reported deaths in other attacks. In the early hours of Saturday, at least two people died in new Russian attacks, according to authorities. The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said the attacks targeted transport infrastructure and warehouses. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone attack killed at least one man and wounded four people, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional military administration.
Rescue teams from four other Ukrainian regions were urgently deployed to assist in the search for survivors. The previous Thursday, 17 people died and more than 40 were wounded in a major Russian attack with missiles and drones on Kyiv. On Friday morning, the Ukrainian military announced it had carried out attacks on an oil refinery and a military airfield in Russian territory.
