In brief
Ukrainian officials report a deadly drone attack on a shopping centre in Pavlohrad that killed five civilians and injured 67 others, many of them children. The assault came amid a series of strikes on retail venues across eastern and central Ukraine. President Zelensky condemned the drone use against civilians, while Kiev’s Foreign Minister called the attacks a coercive tactic aimed at exhausting the Ukrainian populace. The strike follows a broader pattern of targeted air assaults on civilian infrastructure in the region.
A Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in Pavlohrad on Thursday has left five dead and 67 wounded, Ukrainian officials say.
The attack, which occurred during the day when streets were packed with shoppers, struck both the mall and nearby vehicles, fire‑fighters reporting billowing smoke and flames in the streets.
Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said the incident took place “when the streets were full of people,” and regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed that eight of the 67 injured were children.
President Volodymyr Zelensky offered condolences to the families of the victims and condemned the drone attack as an assault on civilians who were simply standing near the centre.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced the strike as a “tactic of coercion,” arguing that Russia intends to pressure Ukraine into concessions by relentlessly targeting civilians.
Pavlohrad, a logistics hub close to Dnipro, had previously suffered air attacks, with two people killed in a warehouse strike last month.
This event follows other recent attacks on shopping venues: a mall in Sumy was hit by a Russian drone earlier this week, killing two and wounding 20; and a mall in Zaporizhzhia was almost destroyed Monday, though no casualties were reported at that time due to it being closed.
The latest wave of attacks mirrors a pattern seen in the region, with Russian forces often targeting commercial infrastructure as part of their broader campaign; a similar raid on the city of Kryvyi Rih last month reportedly killed 16 and wounded 130.
While Ukrainian forces conduct counter‑strikes—such as a recent seaborne drone attack on Sochi’s shoreline—the conflict continues to see sporadic raids on civilian sites, reinforcing the gravity of the ongoing conflict for the local populations.
