Ukraine: 18 dead from blow to mall - 36 missing

According to a recent report by the Ukrainian authorities, the death toll from yesterday's Russian missile strike on a shopping center in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, has risen to 18.

Firefighters and soldiers are searching for survivors in the rubble of a busy shopping mall hit by an attack condemned by the United Nations and the West.

More than 1.000 people were inside the mall when it was hit by two Russian missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Poltava Governor Dmitry Lunin, 25 people have been hospitalized and 36 are missing.

The city of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine had a population of about 220.000 before the war and had so far survived the bombing.

Testimonials

Ludmila Mikhailic, 43, who is being treated at Kremenchuk Public Hospital, said she was shopping with her husband when he was blown up by the blast. "I fell down with my head and fragments hit me in the body. "The building was collapsing," he added.

"It was hell," said Mikola's 45-year-old husband, with traces of blood on the bandage on his head. A large fire broke out after the explosion, which was caused by the rocket strike.

"The Russian attack on a shopping center in Kremenchuk is one of the most shameful terrorist acts in European history. "A quiet city, an ordinary shopping mall, with women, children and ordinary people in it," Zelensky said in a video posted on the Telegram yesterday. "Only completely insane terrorists could strike such an installation with rockets and they should have no place on Earth," Zelensky continued, referring to a "calculated strike."

G7: War crime

In the Bavarian Alps, the leaders of the Group of Seven most industrialized countries in the world issued a joint statement condemning the blow to the mall, calling it a "war crime". "Attacks carried out indiscriminately against innocent civilians are war crimes. "Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials will be held accountable," said a statement issued by G7 heads of state and government.

Convening of the UN Security Council

Following the attack, the UN Security Council will convene on Tuesday at the request of Ukraine.

Russia has not commented on the attack, but Russian UN envoy Dmitry Poliansky has accused Ukraine of taking advantage of the situation to win sympathy ahead of the June 28-30 NATO summit. "We will have to wait for what our Ministry of Defense will say, but there are already too many sharp differences," Polianski wrote on Twitter.

Sources: REUTERS, DPA, ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ