Two Russian ballistic missiles hit an educational facility and a nearby hospital in the central-eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava, killing at least 41 people and wounding 180 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday.
The attack took place in Poltava, the capital of the region sharing the same name, located about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the Russian border and approximately 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, according to the Associated Press.
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This strike is among the deadliest carried out by Russian forces since the war began on February 24, 2022, over 900 days ago.
“One of the buildings of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed. People found themselves under the rubble. Many were saved,” Zelenskyy said in a video shared on his Telegram channel.
He confirmed that rescue operations were underway and that he had ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry condemned the attack as “barbaric.”
According to a Defense Ministry statement, rescue teams and medics saved 25 people, with 11 survivors pulled from the rubble.
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