Ukraine says missile attack in Poltava kills 51 soldiers

Russian missiles struck the city of Poltava in central Ukraine, killing at least 51 people and injuring more than 200 others.

A military communications post and a nearby hospital were attacked. The Ukrainian Army confirmed that military personnel were killed in the attack.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said people did not have enough time to get to the air raid shelters after the air raid sirens were sounded.

President Zelensky has promised that what he calls “Russian scum” will pay for the attack and has repeatedly called for strengthening air defense systems so that Ukraine can protect itself from long-range missile strikes. Moscow has yet to comment on the attack.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense later issued a statement saying that teaching was taking place at the Poltava Military Communications Academy when the missile struck.

Earlier reports on Russian military blogs said cadets had gathered at a military parade at the academy, but the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that no parade was taking place at the time of the attack.

The Ministry of Defense added that the alarm was sounded at 09:08 (07:08 BST) and everyone headed for shelter, with the explosion starting minutes after the alarm was sounded.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC that the two minutes between the air-raid siren sounding in Poltava and the missile landing were “nothing”.

“You imagine you’re on the sixth floor of a building and you need to escape downstairs. Is it realistic to be able to do that in two minutes?” he said.

“Imagine living like this, several times a day. We can’t go on like this. It’s not fair.”

In a statement on Telegram confirming the death of the military personnel, the Ukrainian Army said an investigation was underway to determine whether sufficient measures were taken to protect personnel at the facility where the missile struck.

It confirmed that additional measures would be added to ensure the security of military installations.

Poltava resident Olena Serdyuk said: “The air raid sirens started within a minute and then there were two explosions.

“When we got home, we immediately ran into the bathroom with the kids, but then we gathered together again.” She added that there were no bomb shelters “within our radius” and “it would take a long time to get somewhere.”

Another local, Anastasiia Artyukh, heard “two very strong explosions” and called the situation “really scary.”

“There was a house nearby and everything was blown out, all the windows. Our house didn’t have a basement. So our only option was to sit in [and wait]”.

Poltava region governor Filip Pronin called the attack a “cunning and cynical Russian attack” and later said 15 people were still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

Pronin said search teams were at the scene and 10 residential buildings were damaged in the attack.

He said no further details were immediately available for security reasons.

Ukraine First Lady Olena Zelenska Posted on X Calling the attack “a shocking tragedy for all of Ukraine,” he added: “Russia is taking away what is most precious to us – lives.”

In a video on the Ukrainian presidential website, President Zelensky said Russia was responsible for the attack.

Editing, This was also posted on XZelensky said a “comprehensive and prompt” investigation had been ordered and that “all necessary services were involved in the rescue operation.”

He went on to say that Ukraine needs long-range air defense systems “that can protect us from Russian terrorist attacks,” adding that “unfortunately, every day of delay means more lives lost.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lamy condemned “Putin’s disgusting acts of aggression in his sickening and illegal war in Ukraine” and said “my heart goes out to all the victims and their loved ones”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said Vladimir Putin “does not know that cruelty has no limits.”

Ukrainian authorities also came under criticism after the attack.

Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Bezugra, a frequent critic of the country’s military leadership, accused officials of putting soldiers at risk.

“Tragedies like this keep happening again and again, when will it stop?” she wrote on Telegram.

The attack on the Poltava Military Academy comes as Russian leader Putin arrives in Mongolia – This was his first meeting with members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the ICC issued an arrest warrant last year.

He was welcomed by Mongolian leaders at a grand ceremony in the Asian nation’s capital Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday.

Before the visit, Ukraine had urged Mongolia to arrest Putin.

“We call on the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory international arrest warrant and hand over Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Telegram.

The court last year accused the Russian president of being responsible for war crimes, focusing on the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Poltava is located in central Ukraine, with a pre-war population of 300,000, 300 kilometers (189 miles) east of Kiev.

The Military Communications Institute in Poltava was founded in the 1960s, when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, to train telecommunications specialists.