Russia strikes educational institution with ballistic missiles in Poltava: 41 killed, 180 wounded

Zelenskyy's reaction

“I received preliminary reports on the Russian strike in Poltava. According to available information, two ballistic missiles hit the area. They targeted an educational institution and a nearby hospital, partially destroying one of the telecommunications institute's buildings,” Zelenskyy says.

According to him, people were trapped under the rubble. Many were rescued. More than 180 people were injured. There are many killed.

“As of now, we know that 41 people were killed. My deepest condolences to all of their relatives and loved ones,” the President says.

The Head of State says that he had instructed to conduct a full and prompt investigation into all the circumstances of the incident.

“All necessary services are involved in the rescue operation. I am grateful to everyone who has been helping and saving lives from the very first moments following the strike. The Russian scum will surely pay for this strike. We continue to urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage,” Zelenskyy emphasizes.

He once again reminds his partners that Ukraine needs permission from its partners to launch long-range strikes with Western weapons against Russia to protect it from Russian terror. He emphasizes that it is necessary now, not sometime later.

“Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives. Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken by Russia,” Zelenskyy adds.

Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's statement

The Ministry simultaneously states that today Poltava is experiencing a terrible day. They also confirmed that Russia had launched a barbaric attack on the city's educational institution.

“According to available information, Russia used two ballistic missiles. The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it caught people at the moment of evacuation to the bomb shelter,” the agency says.

One of the buildings of the institute was partially destroyed, and many people were trapped under the rubble. Thanks to the coordinated work of rescuers and medics, 25 people were rescued, 11 of whom were unblocked from the rubble. The rescuers are currently continuing their work.

“We express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims. This tragedy is yet another evidence of Russia's cunning, which stops at no crime to try to intimidate Ukrainians. We urge everyone to remain calm and trust only official sources of information. Any speculation on this tragedy is unacceptable,” the Defense Ministry adds.

Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs' statement

According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, emergency services are currently working at the site of an enemy attack on an educational institution in Poltava. Rescuers have localized the fire and continue to clear the rubble. All the victims are being handed over to doctors for medical care.

Klymenko says that there is a residential area near the impact site. The shock wave smashed out the glass in the high-rise buildings and damaged the facades. The police are now conducting door-to-door checks to see if there are any victims. Over a hundred reports of damaged property have already been filed.

“The work is ongoing. Rescue services will work with due regard to the security component until we are sure that everyone has been unblocked from the rubble,” Klymenko writes.

Verkhovna Rada honored memory of victims

For his part, MP Oleksii Honcharenko said that the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's Parliament), which gathered for a plenary session today, observed a minute of silence for those who Russia killed in Poltava.

Background

Today, on September 3, at 9:08 a.m., an air alert was declared in Poltava and the region. At about 9:10 a.m., two explosions were heard in the Poltava community. That is, they occurred almost immediately after the alert was issued. At the same time, monitoring channels and the Air Force warned of a missile headed for Poltava.

Until then, there was no official information on the consequences of the attack.

Local journalists only reported that as a result of the Russian missile attack on the Poltava district, the victims needed blood and doctors urged the citizens to become blood donors (of all groups).

Later, however, Poltava residents were asked not to create queues at the blood transfusion station. They explained that you can come during this and next week

In the morning, the media also reported that an operational headquarters had been set up at the site of the Russian attack to assist residents.