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Reuters

At least 50 people were killed and 271 wounded when Russia hit a military institute in Ukraine’s central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the war’s deadliest single attack this year.
Photographs posted on social media showed several bodies of young men 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 damaged a building of the Military Institute of Communications.
The emergency service gave the death toll of 50; other officials said 51 were killed. A further 15 people may still be under the rubble, according to Poltava regional governor Filip Pronin.

Ukraine’s land forces said military personnel had been killed. They did not specify how many of the victims were from the armed forces, but the attack was a major blow to Kyiv as it tries to bolster its ranks to hold off a more powerful enemy.
“The Land Forces Command is conducting an investigation to determine whether enough was done to protect the lives and health of the soldiers at the facility,” a statement said.
The use of ballistic missiles – which hit targets hundreds of kilometres away within a few minutes of their launch – meant the victims had little 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.

Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine 2½ 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.
Fighting has intensified over the past month, with Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv’s troops have mounted their first large-scale cross-border assault into Russia. Moscow has vowed to retaliate for the incursion into the Kursk region.
Zelensky repeated 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 300km (186 miles) southeast of Kyiv and 120km to the nearest Russian border, governor Pronin said about 150 residents had donated blood for the wounded. Local authorities announced three days of mourning.
Defence Ministry spokesman Dmytro Lazutkin told national TV that classes at the institute were underway at the time of the attack. He said the alarm sounded at 9.08am prompting people to rush the shelter.
“A few minutes after the air alert, explosions sounded,” he said, adding that there were no parades going on at the time.
It was not the first time Russia has struck military facilities away from the frontlines causing mass casualties.
Russia said in May 2022 that it hit a training ground for reserve forces in the town of Desna where Ukraine said 87 people were killed. In March that year, 35 people died in a Russian strike on a military base in the country’s far west.


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Ukraine war

Russian missiles kill 50 in Ukraine’s Poltava in deadliest strike this year

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more Western air defences and long-range weapons to protect Ukraine, following Russia’s latest missile strike. Photo: AFP

Dozens of Ukrainians were killed on Tuesday in a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava. Photo: Handout

Lights illuminate a Ferris wheel during a blackout in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. Photo: Bloomberg

Damaged buildings are seen after a Russian missile attack in Poltava, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Ukraine war: Russia warns US of World War III risks, says West ‘playing with fire’

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Photo: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa/Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of playing with fire by considering allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, stating a potential World War III would not be confined to Europe. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky presses US to allow deeper strikes into Russia

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a missile strike in Cherkaska Lozova, Kharkiv region, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a missile strike in Cherkaska Lozova, in the Kharkiv region, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine war: Moscow claims to thwart ‘massive’ drone attack on Russia

A Ukrainian Vampire unmanned aerial vehicle with attached mortar shells is seen in the air near a front line amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

A civilian bus rides past a Ukrainian tank on a road in the village of Yunakivka, 9 kilometres from the border with Russia in the Sumy region, Ukraine, on August 18. Photo: EPA-EFE

A full moon rises over Gazprom Neft’s oil refinery in Omsk, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Russia launches early morning missile attack on Ukraine’s capital

A Ukrainian flag seen in front of thick smoke rising from a fire over Kyiv after Russian missile attacks on Ukraine. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Students watch firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a university sports complex damaged during a Russian missile strike on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war: Kyiv unveils new long-range weapon to bypass Western curbs, hit deep into Russia

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a howitzer during a training session in 2015. Photo: EPA

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine on August 26. Photo: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout

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Russia & Central Asia

Hundreds more were injured, prompting Zelensky to repeat his plea for Western air defences and permission to hit targets deep inside Russia


Hundreds more were injured, prompting Zelensky to repeat his plea for Western air defences and permission to hit targets deep inside Russia.
