Wednesday, September 4, 2024
The number of wounded as a result of the Russian attack on a military university in Poltava in the central-eastern part of Ukraine has increased to 271, and the number of dead is 51, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late on Tuesday evening.
Among the attacked facilities are, m.in, the building of the Institute of Telecommunications and a nearby hospital. As a result of the strike, one of the institute’s buildings partially collapsed, which led to many people being buried under the rubble. He stressed that there were still people under the rubble of the destroyed building and the rescue operation was still ongoing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the strike was carried out with two ballistic missiles. The incident was the deadliest of the missile attacks carried out this year.
Against the backdrop of the escalation of the conflict and the intensification of missile attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, Zelensky once again called on Western countries to strengthen the supply of air defense systems and provide Ukraine with long-range weapons. He stressed that every day of delay in the delivery of such weapons leads to new casualties.
The head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration, Philip Pronin, said that local residents actively helped the victims by donating blood. A three-day mourning has been declared in the region in connection with the tragedy, which emphasizes the scale and seriousness of what happened.
