KYIV—At least 51 people were killed and 235 wounded when Russia struck a military institute in Ukraine’s central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, officials say.
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 Zelenskyy 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.
A further 15 people may still be under the rubble, according to Poltava regional governor Filip Pronin.
“Every 15-20 minutes there are ‘minutes of silence’ to listen out for people who are under the rubble,” Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, press officer of the emergency services, said in televised comments.
Officials did not immediately disclose the identity of the victims, but Ukrainian military bloggers suggested some might be cadets or mobilized men undergoing training. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a blogger specializing in communications and electronic warfare, posted a tribute to “my signals operator comrades”.
The use of ballistic missiles—which hit targets hundreds of kilometers 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 defense 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.