Ukraine: World leaders condemn Kremenchuk shopping mall attack, calling it a ‘war crime’ | World News
According to the G7, the Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian shopping center is considered a war crime.
On Monday, two air strikes in the city of Kremenchuk left at least 18 people dead and dozens injured.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said shortly after the attack that more than 1,000 civilians were inside the shopping mall at the time of the attack.
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The G7 leaders met at a summit in Germany and said: “We, the leaders of the G7, solemnly condemn the heinous attack on a shopping center in Kremenchuk.
“We stand in solidarity with Ukraine to mourn the innocent victims of this brutal attack. Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime.
“Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held accountable.”
The G7 leaders’ comments came after Mr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most daring acts of terrorism in European history”.
“A peaceful city, an ordinary shopping mall, inside – women, children, civilians. Before the warning in the air, there were about a thousand people (inside),” he said.
“Thankfully, as far as we know at this point, many people have escaped.
“Only completely heartless terrorists, who should have no place on earth, can launch a missile attack on such an object. And this is not a missile hit, this is a missile attack. was a calculated Russian attack on this mall.”
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said the attack was a “provocation by Ukraine.”
“It is precisely the Kiev regime that needs to focus its attention on Ukraine before (the) NATO,” he said on Twitter.
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Video shot from inside the shopping mall that was hit by the rocket shows people escaping the devastation
There are no military targets near the mall
Dmytro Lunin, governor of the Poltava region, insists there are no nearby military targets that Russia could target.
Video reported from inside the building moments after the attack showed panic as people ran through debris to get out.
One shouted “is anyone there?”, while another called out to his mother, as smoke enveloped the area and shoppers looked dazed.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the department Ukrainians presidential office.
Kremenchuk, where Ukraine’s largest oil refinery is located, is located on the Dnipro River in the Poltava region.
Mr. Zelenskyy emphasized that the shopping center goal is “no threat to Russian military “and has no strategic value”.
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Zelenskyy condemns Russian ‘terrorists’
He accused Russia of undermining “the people’s efforts to lead a normal life, which infuriated the occupiers”.
NATO mobilizes more rapid response troops
On the same day as the attack, The President of Ukraine speaks to the G7said he wanted the war to end by early winter and called on Western leaders to send more military support.
Tuesday marks the final day of the G7 summit, with the leaders traveling to Madrid for the NATO summit.
The G7 leaders are expected to announce an agreement to pursue a cap on Russian oil prices, before turning their attention to the NATO summit.
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NATO strengthens high-ready forces
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the summit that the alliance would agree to a new package of support for Ukraine.
Military alliance also put 300,000 troops on high readinesswith the number of forces in the Baltic states and five other frontline states increased “up to the brigade level”.
“The biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defense capabilities since the cold war,” he said.
NATO’s Rapid Response Force currently numbers up to 40,000 people and the proposed change results in a broad revision to deal with Russia’s militarization.
Under the plan, NATO will also move its arsenal and other supplies further east, a transition expected to be completed by 2023.
Read more:
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Zelenskyy says he wants the war to end by winter before conditions make it harder to fight back.
Truss warns against ‘peace insecurity’
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Liz Truss, warned of an “not easy peace” in Ukraine that would mean the country would give up land it has lost to Russia since 2014.
In an interview with Die Welt, La Repubblica and El Pais, Ms Truss said the West should provide “all the equipment”, training and “all the support we can” to Kyiv.
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“What we can’t have is an uncomfortable peace where Russia is still present in Ukraine; that won’t work.
“We know what happened in 2014 with the Minsk agreements, Russia rallied and came back more after that, so we cannot let that happen again,” she said. “.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Technology Secretary Chris Philp said the incident should be described as an act of terrorism.
“Yes. I would go that far and say it was because it was intentionally aimed at civilians,” he said.
“There’s no need for the army to bomb the shopping mall, just as there’s no need for the army to bomb the maternity hospital that we saw, or that theater in Mariupol.
“We saw them bomb the theater where the civilians were. It was clearly marked as containing civilians.
“So this is not a single act but part of a consistent pattern of atrocities carried out by the Russian government.. “
