A devastating attack on a military academy and a nearby hospital in the Ukrainian city of Poltava has left over 50 people dead and over 200 injured, Ukrainian officials reported on Tuesday. This marks one of the deadliest Russian strikes since the beginning of the war. The missiles struck the main building of the Poltava Military Institute of Communication, causing multiple stories to collapse. The impact sent shockwaves through the city, leaving shattered bricks and pools of blood visible even hours after the attack.
The attack happened as Ukrainian forces were advancing in the Russian Kursk border region following a surprise incursion that began on August 6th. The missiles struck shortly after an air-raid siren sounded, catching many people on their way to bomb shelters. Rescue crews and medics managed to save 25 people, including 11 who were pulled from the rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who ordered an investigation into the attack, described the incident as a “barbaric” act in a video message posted on his Telegram channel. He stressed the urgency for the swift delivery of air defense systems and missiles from Ukraine’s Western partners, stating that every delay means more lives lost. Zelenskyy also called for the removal of restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to target Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons, although some countries fear such actions could escalate the conflict.
The Kremlin has yet to issue a comment on the attack, and it remains unclear whether the casualties included civilians or solely Ukrainian military personnel. The attack comes as part of a pattern of Russian military actions targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in early 2022. Past examples include a deadly airstrike on a Mariupol theater in 2022, where hundreds of civilians sheltering in the basement were killed, and another strike that same year on the train station in Kramatorsk, which resulted in 61 deaths.
The city of Poltava, located about 350 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, is a crucial transportation hub, connecting Kyiv to Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which sits near the Russian border. The attack on Poltava has been met with widespread condemnation and grief. The governor of the Poltava region, Filip Pronin, declared three days of mourning, calling the attack a “great tragedy” for the region and all of Ukraine.
