Two ballistic missiles hit a military academy and a neighboring hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to New York Times on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said 51 people were killed and rescue efforts were still ongoing.
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.
According to the NY Times, it would not be the first time that Russia attacked while Ukrainian troops congregated to observe military protocol or receive awards. Last fall, a Russian missile struck a medal ceremony for artillery troops in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing 19 soldiers in an episode that stirred criticism of the military and civilian leadership.
The attacks come at a particularly active moment in the war. Ukraine is pressing an offensive into Russian territory while Moscow’s forces are advancing with fierce assaults in Ukraine’s east and aiming to capture the transit hub of Pokrovsk.
MNA
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