“This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said.
A Russian plane-launched missile has slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall, killing at least 11 people and wounding 37 others, authorities have said.
The mall in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, is located in the town’s residential area. Thick black smoke rose above it after the strike.
“This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram post.
Around 50 people were reportedly inside the mall when the Russian jet fired the missile.
Footage emerging from the attack shows black smoke billowing from the building, while people run towards it in the search for survivors.
The Russian attack also damaged four houses, nine shops, a car wash and 12 cars, according to domestic media.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that search and rescue operations are ongoing and that “Russia will be held responsible for this terror”.
The city has faced an onslaught of bombings since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many have been killed in previous attacks on the city.
The Ukrainian army is working to hold back an intense Russian push at places on the front line in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donetsk region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he wants to capture the parts of Donetsk that the Kremlin’s forces don’t already occupy.
The attack on the mall came as Ukraine continued its incursion into the Russian region of Kursk. Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies on Friday declared a “federal level” emergency over the Ukrainian assault on its territory.
