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Kremenchug shopping mall administration disregarded air alert, city authorities say

The investigators have already discovered that the Amstor administration said in the mall’s chat that, starting on June 23, the mall will not close during air alerts, city mayor Vitaly Maletsky revealed

KIEV, June 28. /TASS/. The administration of the Amstor shopping mall in Ukraine’s Kremenchug violated the rules of conduct during an air alert, city mayor Vitaly Maletsky said Tuesday. Previously, Russian Defense Ministry stated that the non-operational shopping mall was damaged due to detonation of ammunition in adjacent warehouses after a Russian precision strike.

"The investigators have already discovered that the Amstor administration said in the mall’s chat that, starting on June 23, the mall will not close during air alerts," Maletsky said on his Facebook page. [Facebook is banned in Russia, since it is owned by Meta, deemed extremist organization].

According to the mayor, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova has already arrived in Kremenchug.

"We’ve enacted tighter responsibility for owners of shopping malls, stores and other places of mass concentration of people for violation of the rules of evacuation during an air alert," Maletsky said. "Disregard to an air alert is a crime <…> so I address enterprises of all forms of property: during air alerts, visitors and staff must be evacuated to shelters. In case of violation of this demand, we will take measures, including criminal cases and shutdown of enterprises."

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian aviation carried out a precision airstrike on hangars with Western weapons in Kremenchug. According to the Ministry, the subsequent detonation of ammunition caused a fire in the nearby non-operation shopping mall.

The Amstor shopping mall is located in a direct vicinity of the Kredmash factory, which, according to the media, has been repairing vehicles for Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014.