At least 13 dead after Russian missiles strike busy shopping mall, authorities say

At least 13 people have died while dozens more have sustained injuries after two Russian missiles hit a crowded Ukrainian mall on Monday, the regional governor said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 1,000 people were at the shopping center located in Kremenchuk, an industrial town with a pre-war population of about 220,000. 

Videos show billows of smoke leaving the building as a fire rages in the complex. 

"The response should be more heavy arms for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and more businesses leaving Russia," Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kueba tweeted. 

United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink called the reports "horrifying." She vowed that the "world will hold the Kremlin accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine."

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the missile strike shows Russian President Vladimir Putin's "depth of cruelty and barbarism," The Kyiv Independent reported. 

The Kremlin is blaming Ukraine for the attack. 

Russian United Nations Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky tweeted, "Looks like we are dealing with a new #Bucha-style #Ukrainian provocation. One should wait for what our Ministry of Defence will say, but there are too many striking discrepancies already. Exactly what Kiev regime needs to keep focus of attention on #Ukraine before #NATOSummit."

Russia has denied the atrocities in Bucha, where more than 1,000 civilians died, many in apparent executions committed by Russian forces, the BBC reported.