KREMENCHUK, June 28 (AP): French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russia “cannot and should not win” the war in Ukraine, as its terrible toll was on full view the day after a Russian missile strike hit a shopping mall, killing 18 people.
Speaking at the end of the Group of Seven summit in Germany, Macron said the seven industrialised democracies would support Ukraine and maintain sanctions against Russia “as long as necessary, and with the necessary intensity.”
He added: “Russia cannot and should not win.”
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His comments came as rescuers searched through the charred rubble of the shopping mall, looking for more victims of what Ukraine’s president called “one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 1,000 afternoon shoppers and workers were inside the mall in the city of Kremenchuk. Giant plumes of black smoke, dust and orange flames billowed from the wreckage as emergency crews combed through broken metal and concrete for victims. Drones whirred above, clouds of dark smoke still emanating from the ruins several hours after the fire was extinguished.
Casualty figures rose as rescuers sifted through the smoldering rubble. The regional governor, Dmytro Lunin, said at least 18 people were killed and 59 others sought medical assistance, of whom 25 were hospitalised. The region declared a day of mourning Tuesday for the victims of the attack.
“We are working to dismantle the construction so that it is possible to get machinery in there since the metal elements are very heavy and big, and disassembling them by hand is impossible,” said Volodymyr Hychkan, an emergency services official.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Iryna Venediktova, who is leading investigations into possible war crimes, said the missile attack was one of Russia’s “crimes against humanity,” noting that the Russian military has been “systematically shelling civilian infrastructure with the aim to scare people, to kill people, to bring terror to our cities and villages.”
Venediktova emphasised the need for Ukrainians across the entire country to remain alert, adding that they should expect a similar strike “every minute.”
Wayne Jordash, a British barrister who is working with Venediktova’s office to investigate possible war crimes, rejected claims that a factory located near the shopping mall was a military object.
“The first indications are that the factory that got hit is a road construction factory, not a military target,” Jordash said. “We need to investigate whether there’s military targets nearby, and the first indications as I say is that there aren’t any military targets nearby.”
At Ukraine’s request, the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting in New York on Tuesday to discuss the attack.
