According to President Zelensky, more than 1,000 civilians were inside the mall at the time of the attack. “The mall is on fire, rescue workers are fighting the fire, the number of victims is unimaginable,” the president wrote on Telegram earlier on Monday afternoon.
At the same time, the President emphasized that the shopping center did not pose a threat to the Russian army and that the site had no strategic value for Russia.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the time of the attack was chosen to coincide with the time of day when most people visit the mall and the robots are said to have been fired from bombers sent from the Kursk region in western Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force reports, reports TT.
“Crimes against humanity”
According to Reuters, 13 people were killed and 50 injured in the attack. At the same time, the governor of the Poltava region, Dmytro Lunin, points out that rescue workers will most likely encounter more dead in the coming days. He calls the attack on the mall a “war crime”, a “crime against humanity” and a “cynical terrorist attack on the civilian population”.
The UN also expresses concern about the intensified fighting in Ukraine. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations, described Monday’s attack as “deplorable”.
– It is deplorable to say the least. All forms of civilian infrastructure, which include shopping malls and civilians, should never be targeted, he says, reports Reuters.
The city of Krementjuk is located in central Ukraine and usually has about 220,000 inhabitants.