Shopping center in Kremenchuk: Russia denies direct attack

An attack on a weapons depot is said to have triggered the destruction in the shopping center in Kremenchuk, Ukraine. At least that’s how Russia describes the attack in which at least 18 people died yesterday. Ukraine clearly disagrees.

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. The Russian Defense Ministry said there had been an airstrike on halls in which weapons and ammunition delivered from the USA and Europe were stored. The detonation of the ammunition then triggered a fire “in a shopping center that is no longer in use” nearby.

Ukraine speaks of a targeted attack

Ukraine, on the other hand, spoke of a rocket attack on the shopping center and blamed Russia for it. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was “not a random hit, but a calculated Russian attack on this very mall”. Zelenskyj emphasized that the building has no strategic importance. Russia is trying to sabotage the everyday life of Ukrainians. “Russia continues to take its incompetence out on the civilian population. There is no point in hoping for decency and humanity on its part.” The action was one of “the most brazen terrorist attacks in European history”.

According to the latest information from the Ukrainian authorities, at least 18 people were killed and 60 injured in the attack. More than 35 people are missing. The building was largely destroyed. More than 1,000 people were said to be in the mall at the time of the attack on Monday.

Relatives gathered near the mall. Eyewitnesses described drastic scenes. “I went up, head first, shrapnel hit my body,” said 43-year-old Ludmyla Mychailets, who says she was in the mall with her husband when the rocket hit. “It was hell,” said her husband Mykola. Both were treated in Kremenchuk’s clinic.

Shelling from Kursk?

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, X-22 air-to-surface missiles were used in the attack. These were fired by Tu-22 long-range bombers from the Russian region of Kursk, it said. Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said a second missile had hit a local sports stadium.

Numerous attacks on civilian targets

In a first reaction, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, accused Ukraine of wanting to arouse sympathy with the incident before the NATO summit. He described the attack as a provocation by Ukraine and explained that there were several inconsistencies in the account of the events. Russia has repeatedly denied attacking civilian targets.

However, shopping malls, theaters, kindergartens and residential buildings have been hit before by Russian attacks. For example, an attack on a maternity clinic in Mariupol, southern Ukraine, in mid-March caused horror. At the time, Russia said the building was only used as a retreat for Ukrainian fighters. Ukraine and the United Nations, on the other hand, emphasized that patients were being treated there at the time of the attack.

G7 speak of “war crimes”

The participants of the G7 summit condemned the attack on the shopping center in Kremenchuk: “Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians are war crimes. Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held accountable for this,” it said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden tweeted: “As demonstrated at the G7 summit, the US, along with our allies and partners, will continue to hold Russia accountable for such atrocities and support Ukraine’s defense.” Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Biden government announced further punitive measures by the USA and the other G7 countries against Moscow on Monday.

The EU condemned the destruction “strongly”. The continued shelling of civilians and civilian buildings is unacceptable and amounts to war crimes, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. He spoke of “another despicable act” and referred to recent rocket attacks on residential areas in Kyiv. Russia will be held accountable, Borrell said.

Attack on shopping center in Ukraine preoccupies UN Security Council

The rocket attack on the shopping center is also said to concern the UN Security Council. The most powerful UN body wants to advise on the topic today at 9:00 p.m. CEST, as diplomats in New York announced. The meeting was scheduled at the request of Ukraine.

Kremenchuk is located about 250 kilometers southeast of the capital Kyiv. The area had so far been largely spared from the fighting. The country’s largest oil refinery is located there. In the immediate vicinity of the shopping center there are several industrial plants, including a factory for road construction machinery.