Russian strikes kill at least 22 civilians across Ukraine, including 16 in Kryvyi Rih mall
Russian drone and missile bombardments struck shopping and transport infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv ahead of Ukrainian Independence Day, injuring more than 130 people.
Drone assault on Kryvyi Rih
Russian forces launched a double-tap drone strike on the largest shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih on Friday, 21 August. The first drone struck in broad daylight, setting the complex on fire, before a second drone hit the roof approximately 30 minutes later as emergency crews responded. Municipal military administration head Oleksandr Vilkul confirmed that the targeted commercial complex was the largest in the city of roughly 560,000 residents. The attack in the home town of President Volodymyr Zelensky killed at least 16 people and wounded 130 others, including 23 children. Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Oleksandr Hanzha stated on Saturday morning that nine people, including two children, remained missing under the rubble. Hospital officials treated 63 victims overnight, with 29 individuals in serious condition.
Such attacks are nothing less than terrorist acts. And the world must react accordingly with real pressure on the aggressor.
Overnight attacks across Ukrainian regions
Bombardments continued into the night of 21 to 22 August, hitting targets in the capital and across southern Ukraine. In Kyiv, an air raid alert sounded around 01:30 as ballistic missiles targeted city districts, igniting a fire in a commercial warehouse. State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia confirmed that one of its employees died during the strike, with several other civilians injured. Further south, a Russian drone struck Zaporizhzhia, where regional military head Ivan Fedorov reported one man killed and four people wounded. Additional strikes hit railway infrastructure and power networks in Odesa Oblast, causing electrical outages across multiple localities, while a separate Friday strike in Mykolaiv Oblast killed four people (three of them minors) and destroyed a pharmacy, shop, and post office.
- Russian drones strike the largest shopping complex in Kryvyi Rih in two successive waves
- A separate strike in the Mykolaiv region hits commercial premises and kills four people
- A missile strike hits a warehouse in Kyiv, killing an Ukrzaliznytsia rail worker
- Russian drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia kill one man and injure four others
Rising civilian toll and international reaction
The wave of attacks arrives two days before Ukraine marks its Independence Day on 24 August, a date frequently associated with heightened missile barrages. Data from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine recorded 437 civilian deaths across the country in July 2026, marking the deadliest single month for non-combatants since May 2022. That monthly figure represents a 30% increase from June 2026 and a 70% rise compared to July 2025, driven in part by 54 deaths and 202 injuries in Kyiv alone. United Nations reporting linked the elevated casualty rate to ongoing shortages of air interception systems.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the bombardments in a public statement, while President Zelensky raised the civilian casualties in a direct call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
It is planned terror. Russia wants to make Ukrainian cities uninhabitable.
Rescue teams in Kryvyi Rih and regional authorities across southern Ukraine continue debris clearance and damage assessment operations.
