Ukrainian servicemen wait outside a military educational facility after it was hit by Russian missiles in Poltava, eastern Ukraine on September 3, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s city of Poltava rose to 55 with over 300 wounded, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday (September 5, 2024).

The strike hit the Poltava military communications institute on Tuesday (September 5, 2024), according to Ukrainian officials who did not specify how many of the victims were military or civilians.

On Tuesday (September 5, 2024), the official toll stood at 51 people killed in one of one of the single deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war.

“Poltava — the death toll from a Russian missile attack on an educational institution in the city has risen to 55. 328 people were injured,” Ukraine’s emergency services said.

People could still be trapped under the rubble, it added, two days after two ballistic missiles hit the city, in central Ukraine.

The attack triggered widespread condemnation including from Washington, which denounced it as “another horrific reminder of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s brutality”.

It also prompted criticism in Ukraine after unconfirmed reports said the strikes had targeted an outdoor military ceremony. Many commentators blamed officials for letting the event take place despite the threat of attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the strike.

Russia said a missile attack it launched on the Ukrainian city of Poltava had targeted a Ukrainian army “training centre” and that the strike had achieved its “objectives”.

“Kuleba’s resignation request will be discussed by lawmakers at the next plenary meeting,” Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba resigned on Wednesday (September 4, 2024), following an announcement last week from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent.

“Kuleba’s resignation request will be discussed by lawmakers at the next plenary meeting,” Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page.

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“The Foreign Minister’s resignation came as at least seven people were killed and 35 injured in an overnight strike on Lviv,” city Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said Wednesday morning (September 4, 2024).

“A child and a medical worker were among the dead and others are in critical condition,” he said.

“The attack happened a day after two ballistic missiles blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in Poltava in Ukraine, killing more than 50 people and wounding more than 200 others,” Ukrainian officials said, in one of the deadliest Russian strikes since the war began.

The missiles tore into the heart of the Poltava Military Institute of Communication’s main building, causing several stories to collapse.

The missiles hit shortly after an air-raid alert sounded, when many people were on their way to a bomb shelter, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said, describing the strike Tuesday (September 4, 2024) as “barbaric.”

Poltava is about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border.

The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russia’s Kursk border region after a surprise Ukrainian incursion that began August 6 and as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks on the Russian attack in Poltava, Ukraine, on September 03, 2024.
| Photo Credit: X/@ZelenskyyUa

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said dozens of people were killed in a Russian attack Tuesday (September 3, 2024) on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, which hit a military educational facility.

“More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, there are many dead. As of now, 41 people have been reported dead,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

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Two Russian ballistic missiles hit a hospital and an educational institution, partially destroying one of the institute’s buildings, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said.

“The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it caught people in the middle of evacuating to the bomb shelter,” the Ministry said.

Rescuers were still at work after saving 25 people, including 11 trapped under the rubble, according to the Ministry.

Russian military bloggers had said that the strike targeted an outdoor ceremony.

Ukrainian MP Maria Bezugla, who regularly criticises Ukraine’s military leadership, blamed high-ranking officials for endangering soldiers by allowing such events.

“These tragedies keep repeating themselves. When will it stop?” she posted on Telegram.

Mr. Zelenskyy ordered a prompt investigation into the circumstances of the strike and called for more air defence equipment from Ukraine’s Western partners.