Ukraine Shopping Mall Death Toll: 18 Dead, More Missing as Fears of Mass Casualty Rise After Russian Missile Attack

The Ukraine Shopping Mall Death Toll from Russia's missile attack has increased to 18 on Tuesday as hopes of locating survivors are running out.

Approximately 1,000 people were inside the Astor shopping mall in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, which is at least 100 miles from the nearest frontline, when it was struck on Monday afternoon by what Kyiv claims were two Russian AS-4 guided missiles.

The Russian missile attack also resulted in 60 wounded individuals, including 25 hospitalized victims and an undetermined number who are currently missing, per Mail Online.

Ukraine says there are no military targets located anywhere within the city of Kremenchuk.

Firefighters battled the blaze all night to put it out after the hit destroyed the building and caused much of the roof to collapse.

Desperate families whose loved ones were working at or visiting the mall as it was struck turned to social media to try and find them. Amid warnings, there is little hope that anyone trapped in the blaze could have survived.

G7 Leaders Blast Russian Missile Attack on Civilians

The G7 leaders swiftly condemned the Russian Missile strike during a meeting in Germany on Monday, calling it a "war crime."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow's 'brazen terrorist attack,' while United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson remarked that the Russian Missile attack depicts 'the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which [Putin] will sink."

Zelenskyy addressed the leaders of the G-7 nations, pressing them for more heavy weaponry and help to end the war before winter sets in.

Earlier, Russia denied that it deliberately targeted a civilian structure. Dmitry Polyanskiy, Moscow's deputy ambassador to the UN, stated on Twitter that the attack was a "Ukrainian provocation" but provided no supporting evidence, according to The Guardian.

"Exactly what Kyiv regime needs to keep the focus of attention on Ukraine before (the) NATO Summit," Polyanskiy said, referring to the alliance's Madrid summit set to start on Tuesday.

However, the Russian defense ministry now asserts that bombers had fired missiles at a nearby military facility, which caused flames to grow to what it identified as "a non-functioning shopping center."

The NATO summit is perceived as the most significant assembly of the organization in recent months. It will be attended by member nations and non-NATO allies, like Australia and South Korea, to address the conflict in Ukraine and how to deal with an increasingly aggressive Russia.

On Telegram, President Zelensky stated that the Ukraine Shopping Mall Death Toll was hard to imagine.

He posted: "The occupiers fired missiles at the shopping center, where there were more than a thousand civilians. The mall is on fire, rescuers are extinguishing the fire, and the number of victims is unimaginable. Russia continues to take out its impotence on ordinary citizens. It is useless to hope for decency and humanity from Russia."

UK Intelligence: Russian Forces Are 'Hollowed Out'

Meanwhile, as per CNBC update, the UK Defense Ministry reported that Russian troops in the Luhansk region are "hollowed out" in the intense ongoing battle in the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine.

After pulling back from the nearby city of Severodonetsk, which Russian forces completely occupied at the weekend, Ukrainian forces continue to reinforce their positions on higher ground in the city of Lysychansk, according to the ministry's most recent intelligence update on Tuesday.