Russian forces destroy a series of shopping centers in Kyiv, killing at least eight people

Russian forces attacked a shopping center in Kyiv, Ukraine, late on Sunday, killing eight people and destroying the complex, according to local authorities.

The missile attack was just the latest attack by Russian forces against civilians and civilian structures in Ukraine, according to authorities. Russian forces also destroyed residential buildings near the shopping mall, the Kyiv City Government said.

65 civilians have died as a result of shelling in Kyiv, the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said on Ukrainian television on Monday.

Russian forces attacked civilians with such force because Russian President Vladimir Putin was frustrated with the slow pace of the invasion of Ukraine – thanks in part to fierce Ukrainian resistance, Klitschko said.

“The invader wants to take Kyiv within two to three days. He didn’t succeed,” Klitschko said on Ukrainian television on Monday. “Our military is giving a good response. And the Russians have begun to roam around the homes of civilians out of helplessness. “

In recent days, US government officials have said that Russian forces are also hunting for civilians due to the delay. Putin has used “disgusting” attacks on civilians in recent days because his campaign in Ukraine has been “stalled,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday on CBS’s. Facing the nation.

“We are all shocked by the atrocities we continue to witness day in and day out,” Lloyd told a news conference in Slovakia.

Klitschko thinks the mall attack must be intentional, and says it’s a sign that any company that still does business with Russia needs to be on the lookout for the atrocities Russia is perpetrating. out to the Ukrainians and reassess their priorities.

“This mall attack is not a coincidence. Putin wants to starve civilians to get them to put pressure on their leaders,” he said on Twitter. “Instead, put pressure on Putin’s Russia. If you keep doing business with them, you have blood in your hands.”

The Pentagon has assessed that the Russian attacks were aimed at civilians.

“We continue to witness indiscriminate attacks on civilians that we believe in many cases are intentional,” Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday during a briefing. you.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, five children have been hospitalized and are in critical condition after the Russians opened fire on children evacuated from Mariupol, the head of the Zaporizhia Regional Administration said on Thursday. Two. Ukraine’s Minister of Health on Monday noted that Russian forces have attacked 135 hospitals, some of which have been completely leveled since the beginning of the war.

The State Department is investigating brutal attacks on civilians, Austin said.

Russian forces have so far captured Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, but Russia hasn’t come as far as they expected, a senior US defense official said on Monday’s call. They are still working towards Kyiv, and “heavy fighting” is taking place north of the city – but the Russians are “still stalled” miles away from the city, British defense intelligence says on Monday.

In the coming weeks, Russia will likely remain focused on capturing Kyiv, according to British intelligence.

“Despite the continued lack of progress, Kyiv remains a major Russian military target and it is likely to prioritize efforts to encircle the city in the coming weeks,” the intelligence agency said. said on Monday.