Vadym Yudenko, who was just 500 metres away from the missile attack that hit a shopping centre in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, said “this one [strike] in particular hits the hardest”. He explained this time the attack was not “on the outskirts of the city” but at “the centre of the city, far away from the frontlines”. Referring to the shopping centre used as a target by the Russians, he stressed “it’s just a mall which people frequent every day”.
Mr Yudenko told BBC Newsnight: “This one [strike] in particular hits the hardest.
“Before the city has been hit by many, many rockets because we have an oil refinery, which is the biggest in Ukraine.
“But it is on the outskirts of the city.
“The only thing we could just hear were explosions far away.
“From this point onwards, I think every single siren, every single strike is going to set people off.
“They will be just trying to get somewhere safe to hide.
“I believe my family will be very scared of future sirens”.
At least 18 people are believed to have died so far from the Russian attack, and in statement President Zelensky warned “we must be aware that the losses can be significant”.
The head of Ukraine’s state emergency service Serhiy Kruk confirmed over 59 had been injured in the attack and dozens of missing persons reports have been filed.
In his evening address on Monday, President Zelesnky defined the strike “one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history”.
Referring to the city of Kremenchuk, he added: “A peaceful city, an ordinary shopping mall with women inside, children, ordinary civilians inside. Only totally insane terrorists, who should have no place on earth, can strike missiles at such an object. And this is not an off-target missile strike, this is a calculated Russian strike, exactly at this shopping mall”.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the G7, who are now meeting in Germany, condemned the strike and said “attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime”.
They added: “We stand united with Ukraine in mourning the innocent victims of this brutal attack. Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime. Russian president Putin and those responsible will be held to account.
“Today, we underlined our unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian aggression, an unjustified war of choice that has been raging for 124 days”.
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