KYIV: A Russian strike on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Pavlograd on Thursday killed at least four people and wounded 60 more, according to the authorities.
The attack comes as the two sides intensify long-range barrages on each other hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines, increasingly targeting civilian sites alongside factories, refineries, warehouses and ports.
According to statistics verified by the United Nations, civilian deaths in Ukraine are running at their highest rate since the first months after Russia invaded in February 2022.
“About an hour ago, the Russians struck a shopping centre in Pavlograd city centre. It happened in broad daylight whilst the streets were packed with people,” Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was on a trip to Canada, said that “as of now, four people have been reported killed” in the attack, offering his “condolences to their families and loved ones”.
