Published On 22 Aug 202622 Aug 2026
Russian aerial strikes on Ukraine have killed at least seven people and injured many others, while a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region has killed three people there, officials on both sides said.
The attacks on Saturday came a day after a Russian strike on a Ukrainian shopping centre killed at least 16 people and wounded about 130.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said one person was killed and another wounded when Russian ballistic missiles hit railway infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, overnight.
In a separate attack, local authorities said two people were killed on Saturday afternoon in a Russian ballistic missile strike on the Kyiv region, which surrounds the capital.
Russian drone attacks also killed one person overnight in the Zaporizhia region, local officials said, and a daytime attack killed three others and wounded 15.
Zelenskyy said three people were also wounded in an attack on a minibus in the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia.
On the other side, in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, authorities said three people were killed, including two children, and two adults wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack.
Russian attacks ‘terrorist acts’
The latest attacks coincided with ongoing rescue operations in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, where emergency workers searched the charred wreckage of the Sunny Gallery shopping complex following Friday afternoon’s assault.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, said Russian forces targeted the city’s largest shopping centre with jet-powered Shahed drones.
A second wave hit roughly 30 minutes after the first on Friday, allegedly targeting emergency crews responding to the scene.
Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, said Friday’s attack began “at 4:30 in the afternoon when the mall is typically crowded”, with a second wave following “just 30 minutes later, with rescue workers from nearby regions called in to help”.
“The attacks come as civilian casualties in the war continue to mount, with July marking one of the deadliest months for civilians on both sides since the full-scale war began. And they are another example of how attacks far beyond the front lines are taking their toll on ordinary people,” she said.
Dnipropetrovsk region’s Governor Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed in an update on Saturday morning that the death toll in Kryvyi Rih had risen to 16, with more than 130 wounded, including 22 children.
Zelenskyy called Friday’s attack “absolutely cynical and despicable” and an “act of barbarism”, promising a swift response. “Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” he posted on Telegram.
Air defences and humanitarian aid
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said he had discussed Ukraine’s air defence shortage with French President Emmanuel Macron, who promised to accelerate delivery of equipment.
“We agreed to accelerate the delivery of the latest French equipment and missiles,” Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. “Thank you for confirming the readiness to provide licenses for missile production.”
Macron said he spoke with Zelenskyy following Friday’s attack and expressed his “horror” and “emotion”, adding that Russia was seeking to “break Ukraine through terror”.
“With these strikes and those this week against Kyiv, Russia is continuing and intensifying the crime of its aggression,” Macron posted on X.
Ukraine is expected to receive the new Italo-French SAMP/T-NG missile defence system, which is believed to be capable of downing ballistic missiles. Prior to the attack, the shipments were not expected to arrive in Ukraine before spring next year, according to European diplomats.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, visiting Kyiv, sharply criticised the shopping centre attack on Saturday, condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin for increasing the “intensity of war” and “deliberately terrorising civilians”.
In a news conference, Wadephul announced additional humanitarian aid for Ukraine, pledging an additional $58m, which will go to the United Nations agencies and NGOs focused on people residing near the front lines.
Zelenskyy said he discussed preparations for the upcoming winter with Wadephul, as Russia is expected to renew its relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid.
Germany is expected to pay about another $12m into a NATO fund to strengthen Ukraine’s energy networks and systems for defending against drones, Wadephul said.
The French president said he and Zelenskyy also discussed preparations for a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” scheduled for Monday.
“It is essential that all countries with capabilities at their disposal also join this effort,” Macron posted on X, adding that France would continue cooperation under the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition.