Russian bombs hit shopping mall in Kyiv, at least 8 civilians dead

Russian bombs hit a shopping mall in Kyiv late on Sunday night, killing at least eight people and leaving the surrounding area in ruins as Russian armed forces continue to target civilian targets on the 25th day of their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

In a Telegram post, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, “According to the information we have at the moment, several homes and one of the shopping centers were hit in Podil.”

Although initial reports showed six bodies laid out on the pavement as first responders searched the smoldering rubble for survivors, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General confirmed on Monday that at least eight people were killed in the blast which left nearby buildings and cars ablaze, Reuters reported.

"Russia fired at our shopping center. The mall and the residential buildings around it have suffered terrible damage," Mykola Medinskiy, an army chaplain, told Reuters, adding there were no strategic military objects in the area.

"It is hard for me to speak because my child worked here. She was at work just yesterday. And then this thing happened last night," said tearful onlooker Valentina Timofeevna.

Ukrainian forces have been able to hold back Putin’s armies outside of Kyiv and the capital has largely been able to avoid the devastation witnessed by cities such as Mariupol and Kharkiv.

Heavy fighting took place to the north of the city over the weekend, but the majority of Russia’s military remains 15 miles from the capital’s center.