Russian missile strikes in a residential area crippled a local shopping center in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, killing at least eight people.
What happened: The shopping center became “a smoking ruin” after Russian shelling struck the location, which is located in the populated Podil district in Kyiv, according to The Associated Press.
- “The force of the explosion shattered every window in a neighboring high-rise,” The Associated Press reported.
Worth noting: Video footage showed flames still ablaze at the residential building nearby.
- Firefighters worked to help people escape the destroyed area, per BBC News.
What they’re saying: “While Kyiv has been under bombardment for weeks, the scope of the devastation around the mall was greater than anything The New York Times has witnessed inside the city limits,” The New York Times reported Monday.
The bigger picture: Britain’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the city of Kyiv is still “Russia’s primary military objective,” according to The Washington Post.
- Russia’s plan, according to officials, is to encircle the capital city in the coming weeks.
- Military experts warned Russia “could turn to progressively deadlier siege tactics and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and civilians to compensate for its lack of battlefield progress” in the war thus far, per The Washington Post.