KYIV, Ukraine, September 4 ------ At least 47 people were killed and 206 wounded when Russia struck a military institute in the central town of Poltava with two missiles, 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 Zelensky 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 mobilized men undergoing training.
The use of ballistic missiles — which hit targets hundreds of kilometers 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 defense 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.”
Source: rappler.com
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