At least 15 people were killed and 130 others injured, including 23 children, after Russian drones struck a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, Ukrainian officials said, as a wave of attacks across the country left at least 21 people dead.
The strike hit Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who accused Russia of carrying out what he described as a “double-tap” attack, in which a second wave of drones strikes an area after the initial attack as emergency crews respond.
“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy said on social media, later warning that Ukraine would respond to the attack.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said the shopping center attack had killed at least 15 people and injured 130.
The attack adds to a growing toll of civilian casualties in Kryvyi Rih, which has repeatedly been targeted during Russia’s more than four-year invasion. One of the city’s deadliest attacks occurred in April 2025, when 20 people, including nine children, were killed.
21 killed across Ukraine
Friday’s attacks extended well beyond Kryvyi Rih.
A Russian drone strike in the Kharkiv region killed two women, aged 73 and 66, and wounded two other people, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
A separate Russian attack in the southern Mykolaiv region later killed four people, including three children, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.
Ukraine’s Air Force said its forces had shot down or suppressed 107 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight.
The attacks came only a day after Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage against Kyiv that killed 16 people.
Large-scale Russian attacks have intensified in recent months, with Ukrainian cities repeatedly targeted by waves of missiles and drones. The United Nations has identified Kyiv as one of the cities hardest hit by Russian attacks, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured there in July alone.
Ukraine faces air-defense shortages
Ukrainian officials and military analysts have warned that Russia is exploiting shortages in Ukraine’s air-defense capabilities, particularly the limited supply of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.
Patriot systems remain Ukraine’s principal capability for intercepting some of the ballistic missiles used by Russia, making shortages of the interceptors a significant vulnerability.
Moscow’s forces have increasingly relied on large-scale aerial attacks as the war continues without a decisive breakthrough along the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line.
The widespread use of drones and ground robots has made large troop movements increasingly difficult, while both sides have expanded their ability to conduct long-range strikes far behind the front.
Ukraine strikes targets inside Russia
Ukraine also carried out long-range drone attacks against targets inside Russia on Friday.
One Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Belgorod region killed one person and injured four others after a vehicle was struck near the village of Razumnoye, according to local officials.
Zelenskyy said another Ukrainian drone operation struck an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600 kilometers from Ukraine’s border. A military airfield in Russia’s Volgograd region was also targeted, he said.
Russian media outlet Astra reported that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Lukoil-operated refinery in Perm, although local officials referred only to damage at an unidentified industrial facility.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses intercepted 325 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions and Crimea overnight, followed later in the day by another 211 interceptions.
The figures could not be independently verified.
Escalating long-range war
The intensification of long-range attacks comes as Russia and Ukraine remain locked in a grinding war with little significant movement along the battlefield.
Ukraine has increasingly relied on domestically produced long-range drones to strike military, energy and industrial targets deep inside Russia, while Moscow continues to use large drone and missile barrages against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Kyiv has said its long-range campaign is intended not only to disrupt Russia’s military and economic capabilities but also to demonstrate to the Russian population that the war has consequences beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Despite the escalating attacks and mounting civilian casualties, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no clear willingness to end the invasion, while diplomatic efforts toward a broader peace settlement remain unresolved.
