Russian drones struck a busy shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, killing 16 people and wounding more than 130, including children, in a coordinated double‑hit that targeted both the building and emergency responders, intensifying the recent surge of cross‑border attacks.
Ukraine’s military said the strikes were part of a broader campaign that also saw Ukrainian drones kill at least 10 civilians in Russia’s Samara and Belgorod regions and prompt President Vladimir Putin to warn that Kyiv’s attacks have opened a ‘Pandora’s box’ of retaliation. Russian defence officials reported downing 457 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The EU’s foreign policy chief labelled the Kryvyi Rih attack ‘terror by design’ and announced the most extensive Russia sanctions package since the war began, while France pledged accelerated delivery of interceptor missiles to address Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot systems, underscoring heightened diplomatic and defence‑industry pressures.
Some reports list the death toll as 15 before it was later updated to 16, and the city name appears as Kryvyi Rih in two accounts and Kryvyi Rig in another, reflecting minor inconsistencies in the immediate casualty reporting.