Russia launches devastating 'double-tap' strike on busy shopping centre in Zelensky's hometown - killing 15 and injuring more than 100 others

Russian strikes killed at least 15 people and left 130 injured in Ukraine as two consecutive waves of drones struck a busy shopping centre on Friday. The drones targeted civilians in the city of Kryvyi Rih, which is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the attack was a double-tap strike. An initial wave of strikes hit the building named Solnechnaya Galereya on Friday afternoon, followed by a second wave half an hour later as rescue workers tackled the fire and assisted the injured. 'An absolutely cynical and despicable strike was carried out by the Russians against an ordinary shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih,' President Zelensky wrote on X.'The attack drones struck in two waves - half an hour after the first hit and the fire, there was a second strike targeting the emergency responders.'He added: 'Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts.' The Ukrainian President then warned the nation would 'definitely respond' to the strikes. Footage shows a drone plummeting towards the shopping centre, causing fire to erupt into the sky as it explodes. Russian strikes killed at least 15 people and left more than 100 injured in Ukraine as two consecutive waves of drones struck a busy shopping centre on Friday Debris was strewn across the inside of a shopping centre hit by a Russian drone atack in Kryvyi Rih Rescuers worked at the site of the busy shopping centre hit by Russian drones A separate clip, posted on Telegram, shows the inside of the building filled with smoke as people hurriedly tried to navigate an exit around debris that is strewn across the floor. Ukrainian authorities said at least 15 people died from the strikes, adding that 130 people were injured, including 23 children. More people are reported to be trapped in the rubble.The tactic of sending consecutive waves of drones is known as a 'double-tap' and is one used by Russia throughout the war. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, said on Friday the first wave struck at 4.39pm, adding 'many people are visually injured', according to local reports. Mr Vilkul described the shopping centre being repeatedly attacked by jet-powered Shahed drones 'flying at extremely low altitudes'. Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed on Friday evening that there were now 15 fatalities, including two people who died later in hospital. He said that 130 people were injured, including 29 who were in a critical condition.It came after a Top Gun Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet downed a Russian attack drone using a masterful manoeuvre, sending it crashing before it exploded into a giant fireball. People embraced each other while standing near a burning shopping centre after a Russian drone attack in Kryvyi Rih Firefighters worked on the fire at the shopping centre following the Russian drone attack in Ukraine A woman walks at a site of a missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, on August 21, 2026Kryvyi Rih has been hit multiple times during the war, which has lasted more than four years, with one of the deadliest occurring in April 2025, when 20 people, including nine children, were killed.The industrial city is around 60 kilometres (30 miles) from the front line. Friday's attack came just 24 hours after Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with scores of missiles and drones in a nighttime aerial attack that killed at least 16 people.Moscow's forces have in recent months intensified their ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine's shortage of US-made Patriot air defense interceptors, the sole weapon in its armory able to shoot down the missiles.The attack hit 12 locations across the Ukrainian capital, with homes and a school also among the buildings damaged - as well as a children's hospital.Ukraine's President Zelensky has pleaded for countries to send more Patriot interceptors for defence, but international stockpiles are low amid the Iran war and Kyiv's more than four-year fight against Russia's all-out invasion.Large-scale Russian strikes have become a regular occurrence this summer. More than two weeks ago, a Russian attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 17 people, and nine were killed in the city two days before that. Firefighters work at the site of residential houses hit by overnight Russian drone strikes, in Ukraine on August 21, 2026 Residents take pictures as smoke rises in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv on August 20, 2026The United Nations said last week that Kyiv was one of the hardest hit cities in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.At the same time, Ukraine has shifted the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities that have caused fuel shortages across the country.It has also unsettled the Russian public by striking warehouses of Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer.Russia's overnight barrage also included cruise missiles and jet-powered drones that further strain air defences, Ukraine's air force said.Explosions boomed across Kyiv in the dark, but the air force said hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country. Emergency services said 15 people were killed in the capital, with another death in the wider Kyiv region.About 40 people were wounded, Zelensky said, as air raid warnings lasted until after dawn.More than 38,000 people, including over 2,000 children, sheltered in Kyiv's subway stations overnight, the system's operator said.'It was a massive attack,' Zelensky said on social media, adding that Russia 'had been preparing (it) for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure.'The Russian Defence Ministry said it struck a Kyiv industrial site manufacturing components for Flamingo cruise missiles.Sites involved in the production and storage of drones, an ammunition depot and a logistics centre were also hit, it said.Russia can produce more than 200 cruise and ballistic missiles per month, Ukraine’s intelligence agency told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda in comments published Thursday.It has stockpiled more than 1,100 cruise missiles and about 130 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, as well as hundreds of missiles of other types, the agency was quoted as saying.It was not possible to independently verify the report, and Russian officials do not routinely answer questions about the country’s arsenal.