Russian drones strike Ukrainian shopping centre, killing 16 and injuring over 130

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 AUGUST 2026 —

At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when several Russian drones struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, authorities said. The attack, which took place on Friday, was described by President Volodymyr Zelensky as an “act of barbarism” and he promised a response.

Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha, who oversees Kryvyi Rih – Zelensky’s hometown – said 22 children were among the wounded in the daytime strike on the city. He added that 29 people were in serious condition, including five children, and posted a photo of black smoke billowing from a large industrial building.

An early‑Saturday update from Hanzha stated that nine people were preliminarily considered missing, including two children, and that rescuers were still clearing rubble from the shopping centre.

Zelensky called the attack “absolutely cynical and despicable”, noting that a second drone hit the shopping centre half an hour after the first. He said the timing was a deliberate attempt to target emergency services and warned that “attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts”. He urged the world to hold Russia to account and said Ukraine would “definitely respond”.

In a separate incident on Friday, at least four people, including three children, were killed and a woman wounded after a Russian drone struck a site in Ukraine’s southern Mykolayiv region, Ukrainian state media reported on social media.

The strikes come as Russia escalates its air war on Ukraine, with fighting on the battlefield approaching the 4½‑year mark. Earlier this week, 17 people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Ukraine has also intensified its own counter‑attacks on Russia, targeting oil facilities and logistics infrastructure to undermine Moscow’s war‑fighting capability.