Four killed and 60 injured in Russian strike on shopping centre in Pavlohrad
Ukrainian officials say four people were killed and 60 wounded when a Russian drone struck a shopping mall in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. The attack took place in daylight and hit shops and vehicles, according to the account provided by the interior minister. Officials said the streets were full of people at the time of the strike.
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Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said the attack happened when the area was busy with pedestrians and shoppers. Images released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine showed firefighters directing water hoses at burning vehicles amid smoke on a street in Pavlohrad. Two of the injured were members of the emergency service, and a child was also hurt, according to the same report.
The strike adds to a series of recent attacks on civilian shopping centres in Ukraine. Ukrainian media said two other malls, in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy, were targeted by Russian air strikes earlier this week. Pavlohrad itself has also been hit before, with two people killed in an attack on warehouses there last month, underlining the city's exposure as a logistics hub near Dnipro.
The incident comes against the backdrop of a full-scale war that has continued for more than four and a half years since Russia launched its invasion. It also follows a new peacemaking effort by envoys sent by US President Donald Trump, which appears to have produced few concrete results after talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The latest strike therefore sits within a wider pattern of intensified drone and air attacks, even as diplomatic efforts continue.
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Zelensky offered condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in the Pavlohrad attack. He said Russian drones were being used to kill people who were simply standing near shopping centres. His comments reflect Kyiv's view that civilian sites are being deliberately targeted, while Moscow has continued to report its own casualties from Ukrainian drone attacks.
What remains unclear is whether there will be any immediate change in the pace of strikes or in the diplomatic track now under way. The full extent of the damage in Pavlohrad may also become clearer as rescue work continues and officials update casualty figures. For now, the attack stands as another severe civilian toll in a war where shopping centres, warehouses and other public places have repeatedly come under fire.
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