Multiple people killed, dozens injured in Russian airstrike on Ukraine shopping center

VICTORIA BEAULE and IVAN PEREIRA

Russian forces struck a Ukrainian shopping center in Kharkiv on Saturday, leaving four people dead and 38 people wounded according to local officials.

PHOTO: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of shelling of a market in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 25, 2024. (Sergey Kozlov/EPA via Shutterstock)
PHOTO: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of shelling of a market in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 25, 2024. (Sergey Kozlov/EPA via Shutterstock)

Sources in local law enforcement tell ABC News they expect the casualty numbers to rise as this supermarket is usually crowded on weekends and employs dozens of people. Oleh Synyehubov, the Kharkiv governor, said on Ukrainian television that they have so far identified 16 people as officially missing.

PHOTO: Firefighters inspect a heavily damaged office building following Russian air strike in Kharkiv, on May 25, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images)
PHOTO: Firefighters inspect a heavily damaged office building following Russian air strike in Kharkiv, on May 25, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images)

Synyehubov also said there was a second strike in Kharkiv that injured 12 people, including a 13-year-old boy.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 200 people were believed to have been in the shopping center when the attack happened. He continued to plead with other nations for support.

PHOTO: Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 25, 2024. (Vitalii Hnidyi/Reuters)
PHOTO: Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 25, 2024. (Vitalii Hnidyi/Reuters)

"If Ukraine had enough air defense and modern combat aircraft, such Russian strikes would simply be impossible. And that is why we appeal to all leaders, to all states: we need a significant strengthening of air defense and sufficient capabilities to destroy Russian terrorists," Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.

ABC News' Popova Zaliznyak contributed to this report.

Multiple people killed, dozens injured in Russian airstrike on Ukraine shopping center originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

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