G7, UN condemn ‘deplorable’ Russian attack on Kremenchuk mall | Russia-Ukraine war News

The leaders of the G7 have condemned deadly Russian missile attacks on a crowded Ukrainian shopping mall as an “abominable” war crime.

In a statement on Monday, the G7 leaders, who are holding a meeting in Germany, promised that Russian President Vladimir Putin and those responsible for the attack would be held to account.

At least 16 people were killed in the raids on the city of Kremenchuk, while 59 were wounded.

“Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime,” the G7 statement said.

Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling it “one of the most brazen terrorist acts in European history” in his evening broadcast posted on Telegram.

“A peaceful town, an ordinary shopping centre – women, children ordinary civilians inside,” said Zelenskyy, who earlier shared a video of the mall engulfed in flames with dozens of rescuers and a fire truck outside.

Ukraine’s air force command said the mall was hit by two long-range X-22 missiles fired from Tu-22M3 bombers that flew from Shaykovka airfield in Russia’s Kaluga region.

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, wrote on Twitter, without citing evidence, that the attack was a “Ukrainian provocation”.

“Exactly what Kiev regime needs to keep focus of attention on Ukraine before [the] NATO Summit,” he said, referring to the alliance’s Madrid gathering due to begin on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking from the G7 gathering in the Bavarian Alps, said the Kremenchuk attack demonstrated Putin’s “depths of cruelty and barbarism”.

“Putin must realise that his behaviour will do nothing but strengthen the resolve that the UK and every other G7 country stand by the Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world was “horrified”, while UN chief Antonio Guterres’s office condemned the attack as “totally deplorable”.

Kremenchuk had so far been spared direct hits in the conflict, a spokesperson for Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said at a daily press briefing.

“We once again stress that the parties are obliged under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure,” he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron also denounced the attack as an “abomination”.

Diplomats said the UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting in New York on Tuesday to discuss the attack.

The Russian raid on Monday echoed attacks earlier in the war that caused large numbers of civilian casualties — such as one in March on a Mariupol theatre where many civilians had holed up, killing an estimated 600, and another in April on a train station in eastern Kramatorsk that left at least 59 people dead.

Moscow denies, however, targeting civilians.

The G7, meanwhile, unveiled plans to seek new sanctions on Russia, including a price cap on oil and higher tariffs on goods.

They also pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. In a joint statement Monday after they held a session by video link with Zelenskyy, the leaders underlined their “unwavering commitment to support the government and people of Ukraine in their courageous defense of their country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Elsewhere, the US appeared ready to respond to Zelenskyy’s call for more air defence systems, while in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to greatly expand the alliance’s rapid-reaction forces as part of its response to an “era of strategic competition”.

The NATO response force currently has about 40,000 soldiers. NATO will agree to deliver further military support to Ukraine – including secure communication and anti-drone systems – when its leaders convene in Spain for a summit on Tuesday, Stoltenberg said.