A building of the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology as seen after the Russian missile strike in Poltava, Ukraine on Sep. 3, 2024. Fire trucks and rescuers were seen on the scene to which access was forbidden. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The death toll of a Russian attack against Poltava on Sept. 3 has risen to 53 as another body was found in the rubble, the State Emergency Service reported on Sept. 4. Some 298 people were reportedly injured.
Russia launched two ballistic missiles against the city yesterday, hitting the Military Institute of Communications and a neighboring medical facility. The educational institution building was partially destroyed.
"The rescuers worked all night, organized into shifts," State Emergency Service spokesperson Oleksandr Khoruzhnyi said on air on national television.
According to the State Emergency Service, 25 people have been rescued, of whom 11 had been trapped underneath the rubble. Five more people may remain trapped as of 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 4.
There were no ceremonies or other events near the military institute at the time of the Russian attack, Dmytro Lazutkin, Defense Ministry spokesperson, said on national television, refuting such unofficial claims.
Rostyslav Lypii, 30, and Natalia Hetalo, 32, clean up the glass from broken windows at the taekwondo school that their children attend in Poltava, Ukraine, on Sep. 3, 2024. The school is located in a residential building near the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology, which was struck by Russian missiles. Children were not in class when the strike happened. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)First responders returned to the site of the Russian missile strike on the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology after the air raid alert in Poltava, Ukraine on Sep. 3, 2024. All the first responders and emergency workers had to leave the territory during the air raid alert. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Emergency workers and vehicles near the Russian missile strike in Poltava, Ukraine on Sep. 3, 2024. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Kids ride the bike near the broken glass from the residential building located near the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology that was struck by the Russian missiles in Poltava, Ukraine, on Sep. 3, 2024. People in this building had broken windows and damaged doors due to the shock wave. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
According to the Defense Ministry, students were studying and then followed to the shelter after an air raid alert went off, Lazutkin added.
"Yesterday's tragedy in Poltava is a crime against humanity," Poltava Oblast Governor Filip Pronin said. "The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainian cities."
"Tragedy in Poltava is a crime against humanity"
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had instructed an operational investigation into the circumstances of the attack on Poltava. Ukraine's Ground Forces is conducting an investigation to determine "whether enough was done to protect the lives and health of the soldiers at the facility," the military said.
Poltava is a city of around 300,000, located in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine. It is situated around 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with Russia, and 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the eastern front.
The city and surrounding region are regular targets of Russian drone and missile attacks.
Volunteers organize water and food in the tent not far from the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology that was struck by Russian missiles in Poltava, Ukraine, on Sep. 3, 2024. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Oleksandra Karpova and dogs Mria (black) and Mudryk (white) from the Search and Rescue organization wait for the air raid alert to be clear to go work at the site of the Russian missile attack that hit the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology in Poltava, Ukraine on Sep. 3, 2024. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Emergency workers stay away from the strike site and rest during an air raid alert in Poltava, Ukraine on Sep. 3, 2024. (Oksana Parafeniuk for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Olena Goncharova
