At least 50 people were killed and another 271 were wounded when a pair of Russian ballistic missiles hit a school and a nearby hospital in a central region of Ukraine on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian emergency services who spoke with Reuters.
The attack in Poltava, which also partially destroyed a building of the Military Institute of Communications, appears to be one of the deadliest suffered by Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of the country in Feb. 2022. “The Russian scum will undoubtedly be held accountable for this strike,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video.
Zelensky said people had been “trapped under the rubble” and “many were rescued.” He also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said he’d ordered a “full and prompt investigation” into what happened.
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Emergency services believe 15 more people are trapped under the rubble.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense separately condemned the “barbaric attack.” It said in a Telegram post that there wasn’t much time between air raid alarms sounding and the impact of the missiles, meaning people were hit “at the moment of evacuation to the bomb shelter.”
Rescuers and medics were able to save 25 people, the ministry added, 11 of whom had been stuck under rubble.
Philip Pronin, Poltava’s regional leader, lamented a “terrible day” and “great tragedy” for his people. “From tomorrow, the region will be in three days of mourning,” he wrote on Telegram. “Bright memory to all the dead. The enemy must answer for all crimes against humanity.”
The war has been raging for over 900 days, with no timetable yet established for when a ceasefire will be reached. The last 12 months have also seen some of the conflict’s bloodiest strikes.
In July, dozens of people were killed when a barrage of missiles struck several regions around Ukraine in an attack which also caused significant damage to a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Over 50 people died in a single missile attack last October during a memorial service in the village of Hroza, according to Ukrainian officials.
In his video about the Poltava deaths, Zelensky called for allies to expedite military support to his country. “Once again, we urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: air defense systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere,” he said.
“Long-range strikes that can defend against Russian terror are needed now, not sometime later,” Zelenksy added. “Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lives lost. Eternal memory to all whose lives have been taken by Russia.”
