Tuesday witnessed one of the single deadliest attacks of the two-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war. A Russian ballistic missile slammed into a military academy in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, leaving more than 50 people dead and injuring scores of others.
Ukraine officials said a neighboring hospital was also struck by a second missile. Authorities by the evening (local) said at least 51 people were killed amid an ongoing search and rescue operation which involves picking carefully through rubble. The number of wounded from the attacks stands at 271.
The NY Times describes, citing emergency officials, that the "missiles struck with an unforgiving quickness: The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported that the gap between the sounding of warning sirens and the strike was so short that many people were killed on their way to shelter."
The apparent target included cadets of the Poltava Institute of Military Communications in what marks a first in terms of targeting such a large gathering of soon to be commissioned officers.
"Dozens of people found themselves under the rubble," Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of Ukraine's armed forces, wrote in a statement. He added: "The aggressor country must answer for every person killed, for every life mutilated" - and further identified that two Iskander missiles were behind the strike.
The massive extent of destruction at the military institute in Poltava:
A Russian missile strike on a Military Institute of Communications building and a nearby hospital in Poltava.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 3, 2024
At least 41 dead, over 180 injured.
People in Poltava are donating blood to help save lives.
Yeah, Zelensky has vowed to investigate the tragic incident, but this is… pic.twitter.com/L4sEKcSIkP
Ukraine's defense ministry said that at the time of the strike classes and teaching was underway at the military academy. Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko described that the cadets merely allowed a 2-minute warning by air defense sirens.
"You just imagine you're on the sixth floor of some building and you need to run away downstairs. Is it realistic that you can do this in two minutes?" he said. "Just imagine this life and like this several times per day. We can't continue like this. It's just not fair."
Pro-Ukraine pundits are in an uproar because despite the historically staggering quantity of US "aid" provided to Ukraine since 2022, the Biden Admin has yet to authorize even LONGER range strikes into Russia (Moscow?) with US munitions. They regard this as a huge betrayal https://t.co/33UqvNXt9V
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 3, 2024
Meanwhile President Zelensky is pressing the West even harder to greenlight strikes on Russia far away from the border. "We talk about this every day with our partners. We persuade. We present arguments," he said in weekend evening address.
"We need the capabilities to truly and fully protect Ukraine and Ukrainians." Zelensky continued, "We need both the permissions for long-range capabilities and your long-range shells and missiles."
