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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Michelle Cullen

Search for survivors at busy Ukrainian shopping centre hit by Russian missiles in 'abominable' attack

Firefighters and soldiers are searching for survivors after a "ruthless" Russian missile strike killed at least 18 people in central Ukraine.

The strike on the busy shopping centre in Kremenchuk, in the region of Poltava, southeast of Kyiv, has been condemned by the UN and the West.

Family members of those missing have lined up at a hotel across the road from rescue workers to set up a base.

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More than 1,000 people were inside when two Russian missiles slammed into the centre, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

At least 18 people were killed and 25 hospitalised, while about 36 are now missing, said Dmytro Lunin, governor of Poltava.

Ukrainian firefighter extinguish a fire caused by Russian attacks on the shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine on June 27, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Russian forces hit a shopping center in Kremenchuk, where more than 1,000 civilians are located. (gettyimages.ie)

At a summit in Germany, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies said the attack was "abominable".

"Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held to account," they said in a joint statement.

Mr Zelensky said in a video address that it was "not an accidental hit, this is a calculated Russian strike exactly onto this shopping centre".

A survivor receiving treatment at Kremenchuk's public hospital, Ludmyla Mykhailets, 43, said she was shopping with her husband when the blast threw her into the air.

"I flew head first, and splinters hit my body. The whole place was collapsing," she said.

"It was hell," added her husband, Mykola, 45, blood seeping through a bandage around his head.

Russia has not commented on the strike.

However, the Russian deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, accused Ukraine of using the incident to gain sympathy ahead of this week's NATO summit.

In a tweet, he said: "One should wait for what our Ministry of Defence will say, but there are too many striking discrepancies already."

The UN Security Council will meet today at Ukraine's request following the attack.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the missile strike was deplorable.

The news comes after Ukraine lost the city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of bombardment and street fighting.

Russian artillery pounded Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk's twin city across the Siverskyi Donets River.

Lysychansk became the primary target for the Kremlin after Russian troops failed to take the capital, Kyiv.

Eight residents, including a child, were killed and 21 wounded by shelling when they gathered to get some drinking water in Lysychansk on Monday.

Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said: "They (Russia) really want this, and a lot of reserves are being thrown just for this ... We do not need to lose an army for the sake of one city," he told Reuters.

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