Russian Attacks Hit Shopping Centre, Logistics and Industry as Ukraine Reports Mounting Civilian Toll
By Jahanzaib Saqib — SCN NEWS
KYIV — Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed civilians and wounded scores of people as Moscow intensifies an air campaign hitting cities, commercial sites and infrastructure, with strikes over two days damaging a shopping centre, fuel facilities, an international agribusiness plant and key logistics areas. Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone struck a shopping centre in the northern city of Sumy on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 20, while a much larger assault on the industrial and rail hub of Pavlohrad on Thursday killed seven and injured 76.
Sumy regional governor Oleh Hryhorov initially reported three deaths from the shopping-centre strike but subsequently corrected the toll to two. Four of the wounded were in serious condition and four were teenagers, according to Ukrainian authorities. Images released by the governor showed extensive damage to the building and debris around the site following a fire. Sumy, close to the Russian border, has repeatedly come under attack during the war.
The violence escalated further on Thursday in Pavlohrad, an important industrial and rail centre in southeastern Ukraine. Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said Russian forces used drones, artillery and aerial bombs against five districts, killing seven and injuring 76, including children. Pavlohrad has particular strategic importance because its rail and logistics network connects central Ukraine with areas closer to the eastern front.
The latest strikes point to a broader pattern extending beyond individual battlefield targets. In Kyiv, a jet-powered drone struck an Ukrnafta petrol station and injured four people, while in Dnipro an attack on a sunflower-oil facility operated by U.S.-based agribusiness company Bunge killed two people and injured five. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the Bunge attack was the second recent strike on a U.S.-owned business and accused Moscow of systematically targeting economic interests.
Ukraine's trade routes are also facing growing pressure. Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Wednesday, killing two civilians and injuring three, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian border authorities said Russia had attacked five border crossings in recent weeks, increasing concern over land routes that have become more important as strikes disrupt Ukraine's Black Sea maritime exports.
That threat is now attracting concern beyond Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that Poland had helped avert a threat to one of its crossings with Ukraine and expected border infrastructure connecting Ukraine with neighbouring countries could face further attacks. Russia had not immediately commented on Tusk's assertion.
The expanding attacks come as Ukraine faces mounting pressure on its air defences. Russia launched 149 drones against Ukraine overnight into Thursday, according to Ukraine's air force, while Ukrainian forces continued their own long-range campaign against Russian infrastructure. Kyiv says those operations are directed at assets supporting Moscow's war effort, including refineries, ports and logistics facilities.