The explosion at a shopping center on the outskirts of Kiev is considered the strongest attack on the Ukrainian capital since the outbreak of hostilities.
On the evening of March 20 (local time), the Retroville shopping center on the northwestern outskirts of the capital Kiev was hit by a fierce air strike. According to AFP news agency, this was the strongest attack on a civilian facility in Kiev since the fighting broke out.
At least eight people were killed and much of the mall's infrastructure was destroyed in the explosion that rocked the city.
"My apartment shook due to the force of the explosion. I thought the building would collapse," said a local resident.
Ukrainian officials blame Russian forces for the air strike on Retroville. This mall was opened in early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic swept, and is considered the pride of locals with 250 shops, brands, cinemas, 3,000 seats. parking the car.
Pictures from the scene showed the building only bare frame after the air strike. Debris was scattered everywhere, while black smoke rose from the building's fire. Many buildings and vehicles around the shopping center were also destroyed.
The blast in Retroville was so powerful that the windows of apartment buildings several meters away were also broken. The air raid happened on March 20, but it was not until March 21 that the fire was extinguished.
In a statement released after the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said the shopping center in Kiev was used as a base for storing artillery shells. "The high-precision long-range strike destroyed a Ukrainian rocket artillery battery, as well as an ammunition depot in the shopping center," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
While fighting is still raging in the capital Kiev, satellite images taken on March 19 by Maxar Technologies, a US-based technology company, show that Russian military vehicles and tanks have been destroyed. appeared in the port city of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine.
Mariupol has become a flashpoint in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine recently, when Moscow issued an ultimatum on March 21, demanding that Ukraine's armed forces in Mariupol lay down their arms and surrender. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kiev would never surrender to an ultimatum. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk also confirmed that there was no surrender to Russia's demands.
Mariupol, a strategic port city with a population of 450,000, has been under continuous shelling since early March. Satellite images show heavily damaged residential areas in Mariupol.
Mr Zelensky said that Mariupol was being "turned to ashes" by the Russian attack, but that the city would "remain". The president called on the Ukrainian people to do all they can to "defend the country".
According to Ukrainian officials, the eastern cities of Kharkov, Sumy and Chernihiv have also been hit hard by Russia's tactics of attacking urban areas with artillery. However, Moscow insists that Russian forces only attack military facilities, not civilian infrastructure and civilians.
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