A Russian drone strike on the largest shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih killed at least 16 people and wounded roughly 130 others, including 23 children, after two waves of drones hit the complex about 30 minutes apart on Friday afternoon.
The Death Toll Climbed All Weekend, and Nine People Are Still Missing Early reports from the scene Friday put the number killed at around 14, a figure Al Jazeera and other outlets carried in their first dispatches.
Russia has never officially stated that Kryvyi Rih's connection to Ukraine's president factors into its targeting decisions there.
Moscow Has Not Explained the Attack As of Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry had issued no statement addressing the shopping mall strike specifically.
The talks have stalled on two points that predate this year's diplomatic push and show no sign of resolving soon: Russia's insistence that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region, and Ukraine's refusal to withdraw troops from Donbas territory it still holds without a broader settlement attached.
Two waves of Russian drones struck a shopping mall in President Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, 30 minutes apart. European leaders called it "terror by design" as the death toll climbed through the weekend.