Authorities reported that Russian drones struck a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, resulting in the deaths of 14 individuals and injuries to numerous others.

The city is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who characterized the assault as a double-tap strike, wherein an initial wave of drones targeted the area, followed by a second wave as rescue personnel arrived on the scene.

“Such attacks constitute nothing short of acts of terrorism,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

In a video address delivered several hours later, he further stated that Ukraine would retaliate against the shopping mall attack.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the local administration, reported that the death toll had reached 14, adding that 121 individuals had sustained injuries, 22 of whom were children.

He further stated that the rescue operation remained underway.

Kryvyi Rih has been struck on numerous occasions throughout the conflict, now in its fourth year, with one of the most devastating attacks occurring in April 2025, claiming the lives of 20 people, among them nine children.

Friday’s assault came a mere 24 hours after Russia subjected the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to a relentless barrage of missiles and drones in an overnight aerial offensive that claimed at least 16 lives.

In recent months, Moscow's forces have stepped up their ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, taking advantage of Ukraine's severe shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, which are the only weapons it has that can shoot down these missiles.

Large-scale Russian strikes have become a recurring feature this summer.

Just over two weeks ago, an attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region claimed 17 lives, and nine more were killed in the city two days prior.

The United Nations reported last week that Kyiv was among the cities hardest hit in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.

Earlier on Friday, a Russian drone strike on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region claimed the lives of two women, aged 73 and 66, and left two others injured, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukraine intercepted or suppressed 107 of the 135 drones launched by Russia overnight, according to a statement from Ukraine’s air force on Telegram.

A Ukrainian drone strike claimed one life and left four others wounded after striking a vehicle on Friday in Russia’s Belgorod region near the village of Razumnoye, according to local officials, who noted that two of the injured were in a critical condition.

Earlier, Zelenskyy reported that a separate Ukrainian drone strike had targeted an oil refinery in Perm, situated over 1,600 kilometers (approximately 995 miles) from the nation's border.

He also noted that the Marinovka military airfield in Russia's Volgograd region had been hit.

The Russian online news outlet Astra reported that the Ukrainian drone had set ablaze an oil refinery operated by Lukoil in Perm.

Local officials confirmed that damage had been recorded at an unspecified "industrial facility."

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses had intercepted 325 Ukrainian drones overnight across 15 Russian regions, in addition to Crimea, a peninsula that was unlawfully annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Later Friday, it reported that its air defenses had intercepted an additional 211 drones.

Analysts note that long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine have intensified, as troops persistently fail to achieve significant territorial gains on the battlefield.

Movement along the approximately 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine is heavily constrained by the pervasive presence of drones and ground robots, which pose a substantial threat to both infantry and armored vehicles.

Over the past year, Ukraine has developed and deployed domestically produced long-range drones for strikes deep within Russian territory, drawing the attention of governments and defense manufacturers worldwide.

Officials in Kyiv aim to make the Russian public feel the war’s consequences and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into negotiating a peace settlement.

Putin has so far shown no sign he intends to stop the invasion.