Russia Selenskyj: 41 dead in Russian missile attack on Poltava

At least 41 people have been killed in a Russian missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. "More than 180 people were injured," Selenskyj announced on Telegram. Two ballistic missiles hit the grounds of a university and a neighboring hospital.

A building belonging to the Institute of Communications was badly damaged. Zelensky reiterated his call on the Western allies to quickly deliver weapons for missile defense. "Air defense systems and associated missiles are needed in Ukraine and not in a warehouse somewhere," the head of state emphasized.

Initially unverifiable images on social networks showed corpses in front of a heavily destroyed multi-storey building. It is said to be the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Informatization of the Kyiv Polytechnic University in Poltava. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, at least 25 people were rescued from the rubble. In the neighboring residential area, windows were destroyed and facades damaged by the blast wave, it was said.

Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than two and a half years, including with Western military aid. Selenskyj calls almost daily for better air defense to protect the cities and long-range missiles to hit targets in the Russian hinterland.

The authorities had already reported Russian air and artillery attacks on Ukrainian territory in the morning, as well as deaths and injuries. In the city of Zaporizhzhya, shells hit and killed two people on Monday evening after a visit by Zelenskyi. One victim was an eight-year-old boy, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram.

In the large city of Dnipro, one man was killed and six people injured by rocket fire, according to the local administration. There was reportedly a hit on a substation in the region. In the north-eastern region of Sumy, Russian aerial bombs and artillery shells have hit numerous locations since Monday. Three people were injured. Supplies for Ukrainian troops on their offensive in the Russian region of Kursk pass through the Sumy region on the border with Russia.