Russian drones kill 14 in double-tap strike on Kryvyi Rih mall
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- Russian drones struck a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih on Friday, killing 14 and wounding 121 including 22 children, in what Zelenskyy called a "double-tap" — a second wave timed to hit rescue workers.
- The Kryvyi Rih attack came 24 hours after Russia pounded Kyiv with scores of missiles and drones, killing at least 16; Moscow has intensified strikes this summer, exploiting Ukraine's chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.
- Kryvyi Rih was previously hit in April 2025 with 20 killed including 9 children — then its deadliest strike — while the UN said Kyiv was among the hardest-hit cities in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.
- Ukraine's air force said it shot down or suppressed 107 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight; earlier Friday a separate Russian drone attack on Kharkiv region killed two women, aged 73 and 66.
- Ukrainian retaliatory strikes hit a Lukoil-operated oil refinery in Perm — more than 1,600 km from the border — and the Marinovka military airfield in Volgograd region, according to Zelenskyy.
- Russia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 325 Ukrainian drones overnight across 15 Russian regions and Crimea, as the aerial tit-for-tat escalated on both sides.
Why it matters: The double-tap tactic — a second wave timed to hit rescue workers — marks a deliberate escalation in Russia's summer strike campaign against Ukrainian population centers. With 14 killed at one mall and 16 in Kyiv within 24 hours, civilians are absorbing the cost of Ukraine's depleted Patriot interceptor stockpile, while Ukraine's retaliatory hit on a Perm refinery 1,600 km from the border shows both sides now reaching deep into each other's territory.
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