Russian Double-Tap Drone Strike Kills 16 at Shopping Mall in Zelenskyy’s Hometown

Russian drones struck a busy shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday afternoon, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 130, including 23 children.

The attack hit the Soniachna Halereia complex, the city’s largest mall, around 4:35 p.m. local time. A second jet-powered drone struck the same site roughly 30 minutes later, while firefighters and rescuers were already on the scene.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose hometown is Kryvyi Rih, called the strikes cynical and despicable. He said the second wave deliberately targeted emergency services. Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported that nine people remained missing on Saturday, including two children. Twenty-three of the wounded were in serious or extremely serious condition, three of them children aged 10, 11 and 16.

Footage verified by multiple outlets showed black smoke rising from the complex and the second impact landing on the already burning structure. Local defence council head Oleksandr Vilkul said the drones flew at extremely low altitudes. Fire engulfed more than 9,000 square metres and took hours to extinguish.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha described the double-tap method as intended to maximise civilian casualties and called for those responsible to face accountability. Russia’s military has not commented on the specific strike.

The attack came a day after other Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least 10 people across both sides of the front. Rescuers continued clearing rubble through Saturday as the death toll from the mall rose overnight.

Kryvyi Rih lies in Dnipropetrovsk region, well behind the current line of contact. Daytime strikes on civilian sites in rear cities have become a recurring feature of the conflict, raising questions about the effectiveness of air defences against low-flying drones.