Ballistic missiles struck a military academy and a nearby hospital in Ukraine, one of the deadliest single attacks by Russian forces against a Ukrainian city since the invasion started again two and a half years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his nation on Tuesday, stating educational buildings at the Poltava Military Institute of Communications and a hospital were hit by missiles, with one university building being “partially destroyed”. People were trapped inside the rubble, he said, and at the time of his statement that 41 people were known killed, and 180 injured. Later, Ukraine revised the death count to 47 and 206 wounded.
UPDATE 1610 BST — Death toll rises again
The death roll has risen again to 49, and 219 injured. The Ukrainian government has also denied the claims made on local social media that the strike hit a parade of military cadets. The Defence Ministry said, per the BBC: “teaching was in progress at the institution… There was no parade or any other event at the time of the airstrike.”
The strike is the deadliest of the year, according to Reuters.
The original story continues below
According to Ukrainian state media, 11 people were pulled alive from the rubble. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said two Russian ballistic missiles hit Poltava and the amount of time between the missiles being detected and an air-raid warning being given and the impact was so short, many of those impacted were caught as they ran to the bomb shelters.
The strike blew out windows in hundreds of nearby residential buildings, Ukraine stated. When exactly the attack took place has not been confirmed.
President Zelensky responded to the news of the mass-casualty attack by requesting more air defence systems from his Western backers to defend Ukraine against the “Russian scum”. He said, per Ukraine’s own translation of his comments: “once again, we urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: air defence systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the international community to take action, saying in a statement: “What Russia is doing in Ukraine is pure evil and terror, driven by the objective to eliminate, kill, and ruin. This crime, like others, demands a strong response from the global community. Not just with statements but with decisions and actions that can push this evil back.”
The Guardian newspaper cites claims on social media that the attack took place during a parade at the academy, when its students would have been out in the open without cover, although it notes these assertions have not been confirmed by authorities.
Separately, three senior ministers in the Zelensky government tendered their resignations on Tuesday afternoon. The minister of weapons production, the justice minister, and the environment minister all signalled their intent to go but the reasons why have not yet been made public.
The attack, which is one of the most deadly single strikes against the Ukrainian interior of the war so far — and the deadliest of the year, per Reuters — comes during a critical time in Ukraine’s defensive war against Russia. While Kyiv’s counter invasion of Russia has been a morale boost, it has come at the same time as increasing Russian territory gains within Ukraine itself.
Agence France Presse analysis published on Monday states Russia gained 184 square miles of Ukraine in August, its biggest single month gain since October 2022 when the front lines were more mobile. In all, the analysis said, Russia holds around 25,000 square miles of Ukraine while Ukraine holds around around 500 square miles of Russia.