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Placemark: Kremenchuk, Poltava region
Flames erupt from a shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk.
About a thousand people are said to have been in the building when the air raid alarm went off, Ukrainian authorities report.
Shortly thereafter, rockets hit, probably fired by a Russian long-range bomber.
At least 18 people are dead. Rescue workers expect more fatalities.
The intensive care units in the area can hardly provide adequate care for the many seriously injured.
Ludmyla Mykhailets, injured:
'It threw me head first.
Splinters have pierced my body.
Everywhere the ceilings have collapsed.
Then I landed on the floor.
I didn't know if I was conscious or not.
I didn't understand anything anymore.
I opened my eyes and saw a large chunk of debris on top of me, so I yelled for help.
Water came from somewhere.
The water woke me up.«
Mykola Mykhailets, injured:
»I have never seen so much suffering.
Burned bodies, others covered in blood.
A girl fell and we tried to help her out.
She fell down again and lost consciousness.
At least we tried to help.«
One day after the attack, the rescue workers are still busy with the rescue.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said the authorities had received more than 40 missing persons reports.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine:
»Today's attack on the shopping center in Kremenchuk is one of the most brazen terrorist attacks in the history of Europe.
A peaceful city, an ordinary mall, women and children inside, ordinary civilians.
Anyone who can shoot rockets at such a target should have no place on earth, only terrorists can do that.
It wasn't an accidental hit.
It was a precise Russian military strike – they wanted this very mall.”
The heads of government of the G7 countries called the attack "disgusting" in a joint statement.
Deliberate attacks on civilians are considered war crimes under the Geneva Convention.
