[12] According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the attack was carried out by Kh-22 anti-ship missiles launched from Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers that took off from the Shaykovka air base in the Kaluga region.

Similar comments were echoed by a shopper who expressed shock that the mall was hit, calling it a safe place with women and children.

[20] Russia's defence ministry later officially admitted responsibility for the attack, saying that it hit a weapons depot in a nearby factory and that the detonation of munitions caused the fire to spread to the "non-functioning" shopping centre.

[29] Per reports from independent military experts and researchers with Molfar, a global open sourced intelligence community, the factory and mall were too far apart from one another to cause any fires or explosions.

Additional phone messages, which were reportedly from local management of the shopping mall, were found by investigators, which told employees to stay working through air raid alarms.

"[31] US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the attack an "atrocity" and said, "The world is horrified by Russia's missile strike today, which hit a crowded Ukrainian shopping mall".

[32] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "cruelty and barbarism" of the attack and conveyed condolences to the civilians affected, also reaffirming support for Ukraine.

"[35] He called the attack a crime against humanity, and accused Russia of intentionally shelling a central residential area when there were a lot of people around as an intimidation tactic.

[16] Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that "Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a strike by air-launched high-precision weapons against hangars of weapons and ammunition from the United States and European countries in the area of the Kremenchuk road machinery factory"[38] He also said: "The detonation of the munitions for western weaponry in storage led to a fire in a non-functioning shopping centre next to the factory.

[40] On 20 October 2024, the Shaykovka air base chief of staff and bomber pilot responsible for multiple recent attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, was found dead in an apple orchard in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, apparently a targeted assassination.