Twenty people killed as Russians launch missiles at packed shopping mall in Kremenchuk (UPDATED)

UPDATE: The number of victims in the Russian attack on a crowded mall in Kremenchuk keeps rising as the rescuers dismantle the rubble.  As of now, more than 20 people were found dead. More than 40 people missing. 

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UPDATE: The number of victims in yesterday's Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, rose to 18 people killed, 50 wounded and 36 people missing, Dmytro Lunin, Poltava governor has reported.

UPDATE: Ten people were killed and more than 40 were wounded in the latest Russian missile strike against a shopping mall in Kremenchuk, the local government has reported.

About 1,000 people were in the Amstor shopping mall near the city center at the moment of the attack, according to Ukrainian authorities.

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Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported that according to preliminary reports, at least two people had been killed and about 20 wounded – with nine of them being in a serious condition.

As fire engulfed the entire building, fire and rescue teams worked at the scene. There are fears that the death toll from the attack could be huge.

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Ukrainian officials reacted with shock and anger as news of the atrocity spread on social media.

"Kremenchuk right now... Russia deliberately hit shopping center, with more than a thousand civilians inside,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted shortly after reports and shocking videos of the attack began to circulate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also reacted to the Russian attack on Kremenchuk, posting on Telegram: “In the middle of the day. Just because it wants to kill. To fill everything up with Ukrainian blood. Russia – a terrorist state. Russia is waging a most disgusting war."

"... The number of victims is impossible to even imagine,” Zelensky added.

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“No danger to the Russian army. No strategic value. Only an attempt by people to live a normal life, which so angers the invaders."