Russian drones kill 14 people at a shopping mall in a central Ukrainian city, officials say - AP News

Russian drones kill 15 people at a shopping mall in a central Ukrainian city, officials say

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters work on a fire at a shopping mall following a Russian drone attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

People embrace each other near a burning shopping mall following a Russian drone attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Military administration, firefighters work on a fire at a shopping mall following a Russian drone attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (Ukrainian Military administration via AP)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones struck a shopping center in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 15 people and wounding scores more, authorities said.

The shopping mall strikes, plus two other separate Russian attacks in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions, left a total of 21 people dead across Ukraine on Friday, authorities said.

Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the attack as a double-tap strike, in which an initial wave of drones hit the area, followed by a second wave as rescue workers responded.

“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. In a video address several hours later, he said Ukraine would respond to the shopping mall attack.

Oleksandr Hanzha, who heads the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said Friday evening that the attack on the mall killed at least 15 people and injured 130, including 23 children.

Kryvyi Rih has been hit multiple times during the more than 4-year-old war, with one of the deadliest occurring in April 2025, when 20 people, including nine children, were killed.

Russia exploits Ukraine’s shortage of defensive systems

Earlier on Friday, a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed two women, aged 73 and 66, and wounded two others, said regional head Oleh Syniehubov.

Another Russian attack on Friday evening killed four people, including three children, in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, emergency services said.

Ukraine shot down or suppressed 107 out of 135 drones launched by Russia overnight, according to a statement from Ukraine’s air force on Telegram.

Friday’s attacks came just 24 hours after Russia pounded the capital of Kyiv with scores of missiles and drones in a nighttime aerial attack that killed 16 people.

Large-scale Russian strikes have become a regular occurrence this summer. Just over two weeks ago, a Russian attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 17 people, and nine were killed in the city two days before that. The United Nations said last week that Kyiv was one of the hardest hit cities in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.

Moscow’s forces have recently intensified their ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine’s chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, the sole weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down the missiles.