Shopping mall hit by Russian missiles, Ukraine says

STORY: Two Russian missiles slammed into a crowded shopping center in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 40, according to local officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more than 1,000 people were in the shopping center at the time of the attack, which witnesses said caused a huge fire and sent dark smoke billowing into the sky.

A Reuters reporter saw the charred husk of the shopping complex with a caved-in roof. Firefighters and soldiers were pulling out mangled pieces of metal as they searched for survivors.

Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app: "It's useless to hope for decency and humanity from Russia."

And the governor of the region called it "an act of terrorism against civilians."

Russia did not immediately comment on the assertion. It has denied deliberately targeting civilians during what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Russian missile attacks have stepped up in recent days with a primary school in Kharkiv hit in the early morning hours of Monday, said the school’s director.

SCHOOL DIRECTOR OLENA FOMICHOVA: "The school has been badly damaged, you have seen for yourself."

There were no casualties, but windows were blown out, walls cracked with debris strewn throughout. In the schoolyard was a huge crater.

And another rocket hit a nearby privately owned garage, sparking a fire at a residential building.