Russian missiles strike busy mall in Ukraine's Kremenchuk; at least 2 dead, 20 injured

Kremenchuk city's mayor first shared the missile attack saying that there were unknown number of dead and wounded people in the attack on the "very crowded place".

At least ten people have been killed and 40 others injured after Russian missiles struck a shopping mall containing more than 1,000 people in the central city of Kremenchuk in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday. The casualties are expected to rise, according to local reports.

Aftermath of Russian missile strikes in Ukraine (AP Photo/Representative image) (AP)

"The occupiers fired missiles at a shopping centre where there were over a thousand civilians... The number of victims is impossible to imagine," Zelensky reportedly wrote in a Telegram post.

The news was first shared by the city's mayor who had claimed there were unknown number of dead and wounded people in the attack on the "very crowded place".

“A rocket attack on Kremenchuk hit a very crowded area, which is 100% certain not to have any links to the armed forces. There are killed and injured people,” the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Maletskiy, had written on Facebook, without giving an exact toll.

Ukrainian authorities said emergency teams were at the scene.

Kremenchuk is an industrial city in central Ukraine, with a population of 217,000 until Russia's February 24 invasion. It is the site of the country's largest oil refinery.

At the crucial Group of Seven or G7 summit in Germany today, Zelensky on Monday urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia's invasion by the end of the year. Notably, G7 leaders have planned new sanctions and vowed to support Kyiv against Moscow "as long as it takes".

(With agency inputs)