Shops and vehicles were among the targets in the attack, as confirmed by local authorities, Ukrainian officials described the incident as part of a pattern of Russian drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in recent weeks.

Multiple Malls Targeted in Recent Weeks

Two other shopping centers, in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Sumy, were also hit by Russian air strikes earlier this week, according to Ukrainian media reports. In Zaporizhzhia, a shopping mall was nearly destroyed on Monday, but it was closed at the time, and no casualties were immediately reported.

Ukrainian regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported that of the 67 people injured in the Pavlohrad attack, eight were children, as the State Emergency Service of Ukraine released images showing firefighters battling burning vehicles on a smoke-filled street.

Civilian Attacks Continue Amid War

A full-scale war has been ongoing between Russia and Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion over four and a half years ago; a recent peacemaking effort led by envoys from former U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have yielded few concrete results, after meetings in Moscow with Putin and in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the latest attack, “The Russians used drones to kill people who were simply standing near shopping centers,” he said in a statement.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as part of a “tactic of coercion.” He added that Russia believes relentless attacks on civilians could exhaust Ukrainians and force them into concessions.

Pavlohrad, a logistics hub near the central city of Dnipro, has previously been hit by heavy attacks — Last month, two people were killed in an attack on warehouses in the city.

In Sumy, a Russian drone attack on a mall on Wednesday killed two people and wounded 20; On Thursday, eight more people were reportedly injured in Sumy, including three children.

On the Russian side, officials reported a seaborne drone attack on the resort city of Sochi overnight, in which 28 people were wounded. Two of the injured were children. Plus, a drone strike on the town of Novy Oskol in the Belgorod Region killed one person and wounded six others.

Attacks on Both Sides

Shopping centers in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine have also been targeted, though On Monday, a Ukrainian drone strike was reported on a mall in the port city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. Another attack occurred in Donetsk last month.

On Wednesday, Russian officials said a Ukrainian attack on a car in Zaporizhzhia killed a 15-year-old girl and injured a six-year-old and two women, though a separate attack on a civilian lorry in the same region killed a man.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred last month, when Ukrainian officials said at least 16 people were killed and 130 injured in a Russian drone attack on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih.