In one of the deadliest single attacks by Russian forces since the invasion started two and a half years ago, ballistic missiles struck a military academy and a nearby hospital in Ukraine. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed his nation on Tuesday, reporting that educational buildings at the Poltava Military Institute of Communications and a hospital were hit by missiles. One university building was “partially destroyed,” he said, with people trapped inside the rubble. At the time of his statement, 41 people were known killed and 180 injured; however, Ukraine later revised the death count to 47 and 206 wounded.
The death toll has since risen again to 49, with 219 injured. The Ukrainian government has denied claims made on local social media that the strike hit a parade of military cadets. According to the Defence Ministry, teaching was in progress at the institution during the air strike; there was no parade or any other event occurring at the time.
The attack is the deadliest of the year, according to Reuters. Ukrainian state media reports that 11 people were pulled alive from the rubble. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said two Russian ballistic missiles hit Poltava and there was a very short amount of time between the missiles being detected and an air-raid warning being given and the impact, leaving many unable to reach bomb shelters.
The strike blew out windows in hundreds of nearby residential buildings; however, 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 “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, stating that what Russia is doing in Ukraine is “pure evil and terror.” The attack 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.
According to an Agence France Presse analysis published on Monday, 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.