Russian missiles hit Ukrainian military academy and hospital in Poltava

Two ballistic missiles struck a military academy and a nearby hospital in Ukraine on Tuesday, killing more than 50 people and injuring more than 200, Ukrainian officials said. It was one of the deadliest Russian attacks since the war began.

The rockets struck the heart of the main building of Poltava's Military Institute of Communications, collapsing several floors. It didn't take long for the smell of smoke and news of the deadly attack to spread across the central-eastern city.

“People found themselves under the rubble. Many were rescued,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video he published on his Telegram channel. He ordered an investigation.

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Broken bricks could be seen behind the closed gates of the facility, which was closed to the media, and small pools of blood could still be seen outside hours later. Intelligence vehicles were parked along the perimeter wall. The streets were covered with shards of glass from broken apartment windows.

“I heard explosions… I was at home at the time. When I left the house, I realized that it was something evil and bad,” said Yevheniy Zemsky, who had come as a volunteer. “I was worried about the children, the people of Poltava. That's why we are here today to help our city in any way we can.”

By Tuesday evening, the death toll stood at 51, according to the Attorney General's Office.

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Filip Pronin, governor of the region of the same name, announced on Telegram that 219 people had been injured. Up to 18 people could be buried under the rubble, he said.

Ten residential buildings were damaged and more than 150 people donated blood, Pronin said.

He described it as a “great tragedy” for the region and the whole of Ukraine and announced three days of mourning starting Wednesday.

The academy trains officers in communications and electronics as well as drone operators, honing some of the most valuable skills in a war where both sides are fighting for control of the electronic battlefield.

“The enemy must certainly answer for all his crimes against humanity,” Pronin wrote on Telegram.

The Kremlin did not initially comment on the attack. It was not clear whether the dead and injured were only Ukrainian military personnel, such as signal cadets, or whether there were also civilians among them.

Since the large-scale invasion began in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to destroy civilian targets, sometimes killing dozens of people in a single attack.

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The deadliest such attacks included an airstrike on a theater in Mariupol in 2022 that killed hundreds of civilians who had taken shelter in the basement, and an attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk that same year that killed 61 people. Residential buildings, markets and shopping centers were also attacked.

Poltava is located about 350 kilometers southeast of Kyiv on the main highway and railway route between Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, which is close to the Russian border.

The attack came as Ukrainian forces attempted to recapture their positions in Russia's Kursk border region following a surprise incursion that began on August 6, and as the Russian army advanced deeper into eastern Ukraine.

The rockets struck shortly after an air raid warning, when many people were on their way to an air raid shelter, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said, describing the attack as “barbaric.”

Rescue teams and paramedics rescued 25 people, including 11 who were pulled from the rubble, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The attack came on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting Mongolia, with no indication that his hosts would comply with demands to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes.

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Zelensky reiterated his appeal to Ukraine's Western partners to provide military assistance quickly. He had previously criticized the United States and European countries for being reluctant to keep their promises of assistance.

He also calls for a relaxation of restrictions on Ukraine's arms deliveries to Russian targets. Some countries fear that an attack on Russia could escalate the war.

“Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, and they must not be left in storage,” Zelensky wrote in English on Telegram.

“Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later. Every day of delay unfortunately means more lives lost,” he said.