Russia destroys mall with all goods in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
Photo: The aftermath of the strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service)
On the night of September 6, Russians attacked the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia with drones. A massive fire broke out in the building after three Shahed drones struck it, according to ZaBor and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
Russia attacked the shopping center around 12:30 a.m. According to eyewitnesses, 3 Shahed-type strike drones struck the building.
After the Russian strikes, a fire broke out inside the shopping center. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, rescuers extinguished 6 fire pockets covering a total area of 700 square meters.
At the time of the Russian attack, the entire on-duty shift was in a shelter, so none of the staff were injured.
Volodymyr, an employee of the shopping center who is a displaced person from Huliaipole, described the first moments after the Russian attack.
"It was half past midnight. 3 Shahed drones struck, then the firefighters arrived to put out the fire. And that's it. You can see the results for yourselves," the man says.
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Photo: The aftermath of the Russian strike on the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
The man notes that after moving to Zaporizhzhia, he once again found himself in danger due to Russian strikes.
"I was in Huliaipole, and now they're attacking here," he adds.
Merchandise remains in stores
Due to constant air raid alerts and a strict ban on staying indoors during an emergency, local business owners did not have time to remove their merchandise from the stores.
After yet another air raid and fire, store owners don't know if they'll be able to resume operations at the shopping center anytime soon, or what condition their surviving inventory is in.
Shopping center closure
On September 2, the City Mall shopping center in Zaporizhzhia, operated by Arricano, temporarily suspended operations until the end of September due to the current security situation.
Arricano explains that over the past month, Russia has significantly increased the number of Russian strikes on civilian targets, particularly shopping centers. One notable incident was the strike on the Epicentr hypermarket, which is located right next to City Mall in Zaporizhzhia.
