In a move that can only be described as 'absolutely cynical and despicable' (and we're not just quoting President Volodymyr Zelensky, though we are), Russia has killed at least 15 people in a double-tap drone strike on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Because why hit a target once when you can hit it twice, right? Especially when the second strike is specifically designed to take out the emergency workers rushing to help the first wave's victims. That's not just a war crime; that's a war crime with a sense of dramatic timing.

Officials say another 130 people - including 23 children - were injured in the city's biggest mall, which is now also a pile of rubble with people still trapped underneath. The death toll is expected to rise, because of course it is. Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed 15 fatalities on Friday evening, including two who died later in hospital, and noted that 29 of the injured are in serious condition. Because 'serious' is just a number until it's not.

Zelensky, who hails from Kryvyi Rih, called the daytime attack 'absolutely cynical and despicable,' and he's not wrong. BBC-verified footage shows the second drone slamming into the already-burning shopping centre, in what might be the most predictable plot twist since the sequel to a horror movie. Russia's military, predictably, has had nothing to say - perhaps they're busy patting themselves on the back for their 'precision' strikes.

Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul described the drones flying at 'extremely low altitudes' and called the attackers 'animals,' adding that there are missing people who aren't responding to calls. Meanwhile, rescue teams from four other Ukrainian regions are being deployed to help search for survivors, because apparently one region's trauma isn't enough.

As if one tragedy per day wasn't sufficient, separate Russian attacks killed four people - including three children - in the southern Mykolaiv region, and two more in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. In Zaporizhzhia, three people were injured when a drone exploded near a taxi, because even your ride home isn't safe. This all comes a day after 17 people were killed and over 40 injured in a major Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, which damaged blocks of flats, warehouses, a children's hospital, and a school. You know, the usual.

Ukraine, for its part, has been striking back, hitting an oil refinery and a military airfield deep inside Russia, as well as warehouses of the country's largest online retailer Wildberries. Kyiv calls these legitimate targets because they help finance Russia's war - because war is expensive, and apparently someone's gotta pay for all those drones.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched this full-scale invasion in February 2022, and Moscow now controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory in the south-east. Because that's working out so well for everyone involved.

In other news, UK's Andy Burnham says the UK 'supports Ukraine 100%,' after Russia's drone warning. Because what else are you going to say?