Russian strike on shopping centre in Ukraine kills 16

At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded on Friday when two Russian drones struck a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, authorities said.

Twenty-two children were among the wounded in the daytime attack on President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy's hometown, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on the Telegram messaging app.

"There are 29 people in serious condition, including five children," he said.

He posted a photo of black smoke billowing from a large industrial building.

In an update early on Saturday, Hanzha said nine people were preliminarily considered missing, including two children, and that rescuers were continuing to clear the rubble of the shopping centre.

Zelenskyy called the attack "absolutely cynical and despicable", saying that a second Russian drone hit the shopping centre half an hour after the first in a deliberate attempt to target emergency services.

"Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts," Zelenskyy said on Telegram, urging the world to hold Russia to account.

Russia is escalating its air war on Ukraine as fighting on the battlefield grinds toward the 4-1/2 year mark.

On Thursday, 17 people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Ukraine has also stepped up its own attacks on Russia, targeting oil facilities and logistics infrastructure to try to undermine Moscow's ability to wage war.