Russian forces effectively destroyed the CITY MALL shopping and entertainment complex in Zaporizhzhia on September 7. This was reported by the press service of the developer company Arricano.
There were no casualties as a result of the strike — the complex had not been operating since the beginning of the month.
"The loss of CITY MALL is a heavy blow to our team, tenants, and hundreds of people who worked here. We will continue to make every effort to restore CITY MALL and provide residents with the necessary goods and services," the company said in a statement.
On September 7, the State Emergency Service reported a fire at one of Zaporizhzhia's shopping centers as a result of a Russian attack.
What is known about the facility
CITY MALL is located near the center of Zaporizhzhia, with a retail area of over 23,400 square meters. It suspended operations from the beginning of September for security reasons, after the nearby Epicentrum shopping center was completely destroyed.
Systematic target
The strike on CITY MALL is part of a series of attacks in recent weeks on commercial infrastructure in Ukrainian cities:
- On August 21, drones hit the "Soniachna Galerea" shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih — the largest in the city. Sixteen people were killed, including children, approximately 130 were wounded, and nine are still considered missing.
- On the night of August 22, occupiers destroyed one of Kherson's shopping centers with drones.
- On August 25, the "Caravan" shopping mall in Dnipro's suburbs was damaged — the complex only partially resumed operations three days later.
As of late July, according to estimates, 38 Ukrainian shopping malls with a total area of 1.4 million square meters have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the full-scale war. Some facilities, such as the capital's Blockbuster Mall or the "Kvadrat" shopping center, have been struck multiple times.
The question is not whether such strikes will be repeated in other cities — but how much of the country's retail infrastructure it will be able to rebuild in parallel with losses at the front.
