What happened in Ukraine on 27 June 2022?

What did the war look like on 27 June 2022? It was a day in which missiles hit a crowded shopping centre in central Ukraine, civilians were killed while queuing for water in the east, and the leaders of the G7 promised more help to Kyiv.

The Kremenchuk mall

The most serious attack of the day came in Kremenchuk, where two missiles struck a crowded shopping mall. As reported at the time, at least 13 people were killed and at least 50 injured. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than a thousand people were inside when the missiles hit.

Later accounts gave a higher toll. They put the dead at no fewer than 20 and the injured at no fewer than 59. They also identified the weapons as two Kh-22 cruise missiles that hit the Kredmash road machinery plant and the adjacent Amstor shopping mall in the city, in Poltava Oblast, and started a fire. Russian media and officials gave conflicting accounts of the attack.

Lysychansk under fire

In Luhansk Oblast, the regional governor said a Russian strike on Lysychansk killed eight civilians who were collecting water and wounded 21 others. The city had come under pressure two days earlier. On 25 June 2022, pro-Russian forces said they had entered Lysychansk, described as the last major city in Luhansk Oblast still held by Ukrainian forces, and that street-to-street fighting was under way.

On the same day, the mayor of Sieverodonetsk announced that Russian forces had fully occupied that city. The battle for it had run from 28 February to 24 June 2022, according to later accounts. Sieverodonetsk was the temporary administrative centre of Luhansk Oblast.

A weekend of missile strikes

The Kremenchuk strike followed several days of long-range attacks on cities far from the front line. On 25 June 2022, Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles at targets in several Ukrainian cities, including Yavoriv, Zhytomyr and Desna. At least 20 of the missiles were fired from Belarusian airspace.

On 26 June 2022, several Russian cruise missiles struck Kyiv. Ukraine's Prosecutor General said one civilian was killed and four were injured. Some of the missiles were launched from Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea. The same day, a missile strike in Cherkasy Oblast killed a civilian and destroyed a strategic bridge linking western Ukraine with the eastern battlefields.

The G7 response

Also on 27 June 2022, leaders at the G7 summit in Germany issued a statement pledging more financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. The statement followed a video message from Zelenskyy in which he called on allies to provide more heavy weapons.

Taken together, the events of 27 June 2022 show missile strikes reaching civilian sites in the centre of the country and in the east, with Ukraine's allies, meeting in Germany, responding with a pledge of continued support.