At least 47 people were killed and 206 wounded when Russia struck a military institute in the central town of Poltava with two missiles on Tuesday, Ukraine’s first lady said, the war’s deadliest single attack this year.
Photographs posted on social media showed several bodies lying on the ground covered in dust and debris, with the badly damaged side of a large building behind them. Reuters could not immediately verify the images.
“The Russian scum will definitely be held accountable for this strike,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
He ordered a full and prompt investigation, saying the strike with two ballistic missiles damaged a building of the Military Institute of Communications.
It was not immediately clear who the victims were. Ukrainian military bloggers suggested some might be cadets or recently mobilised men undergoing training.
The use of ballistic missiles – which hit targets hundreds of kilometres away within a few minutes of their launch – meant the victims had almost no time to find cover after the air raid siren sounded, the foreign ministry said.
“This is a stunning tragedy for all of Ukraine. The enemy hit an educational institution and a hospital,” Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, wrote on X.
Some Ukrainians left worried messages on the institute’s Facebook page seeking information about their loved ones.
“One of the institute’s buildings was partially destroyed, and many people were trapped under the rubble,” the defence ministry said on Telegram.
“Thanks to the coordinated work of rescuers and medics, 25 people were rescued, 11 of whom were taken from the rubble. The rescuers are currently continuing their work.”
Russia did not immediately comment on the attack.
INCREASE IN MISSILE STRIKES
Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine two-and-a-half years into the full-scale war.
Last week Ukraine was pummelled with the heaviest bombardment to date, and on Monday ballistic and cruise missiles targeted Kyiv causing loud explosions.
Ukraine also targeted Russia with more than 158 drones at the weekend, damaging an oil refinery near Moscow and a power station.
Zelenskiy repeated his calls for more Western air defences and urged allies to allow their long-range weapons to be used for strikes deeper into Russian territory in order to protect Ukraine.
“We keep telling 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.
“Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not some time later. Unfortunately, every day of delay means loss of life.”
In Poltava, some 300 km (186 miles) southeast of Kyiv and 120 km to the nearest Russian border, governor Filip Pronin said that many residents had donated blood for the wounded. Local authorities announced three days of mourning.
The identities of the victims were not immediately disclosed.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, a prominent Ukrainian Telegram blogger followed by many radio, communications and electronic warfare specialists in Ukraine’s military, posted a tribute to “my signals operator comrades”.
Fighting has intensified over the past month, with Russian forces advancing in heavy battles in eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv’s troops have mounted their first large-scale cross-border assault into a Russian region, for which Moscow has vowed to retaliate.