The town of Poltava, in the heart of Ukraine, was hit hard by a Russian missile attack on Tuesday September 3, killing 51 people and injuring 271 (as of September 4).
The two ballistic missiles, fired with devastating accuracy, hit a nearby military institute and hospital. ” A building of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed, trapping several people under the rubble”, said V. Zelensky, adding that the rescue services, mobilized to the scene, managed to free 25 people, 11 of whom were directly extracted from the rubble. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stressed the speed of the attack, which occurred shortly after the air alert, leaving residents little time to reach underground shelters. “The missiles struck as people were trying to evacuate,” said a ministry official.
Ukrainian military sources suggest that the attack may have targeted an open-air military ceremony. Mariana Bezuhla, MP and member of the Defense Committee, criticized command errors, denouncing the lack of sanctions against those responsible for previous similar incidents. “Tragedy follows tragedy. When will it end?” she lamented on social networks. In response to this latest tragedy, Volodymyr Zelensky announced the opening of a “full and prompt” investigation into the circumstances that led to the Russian strike. He reaffirmed his determination to hold Moscow responsible for these murderous attacks, and renewed his appeal to Western allies to speed up the delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president also called for authorization to use long-range missiles to target Russian positions in depth. This attack comes as tensions between Kiev and Moscow continue to escalate, further exacerbating the urgent need for the international community to step up its intervention in support of Ukraine.
