A missile airstrike on Ukraine has been described as one of Russia’s deadliest attacks on the country in two and a half years.
More than 50 people were killed when ballistic missiles struck a hospital and military academy in the Ukrainian city of Poltava overnight.
At least 270 people are injured, with many feared missing beneath the rubble.
Background
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” into Ukraine, claiming the country is “historically Russian land”.
Russian troops crossed the border and missiles were fired at cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country would defend itself.
While Ukraine retook large chunks of its territory in 2022, its counter-offensive then stalled. However, it launched a surprise attack on Russia last month.
In August, Ukraine pushed across its northern border into Russia, where its taken control of the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
In response, Russia launched a missile and drone attack last month, killing at least seven people and injuring 47 others.
Zelenskyy described it as “one of the largest” since the war began over two years ago.
Officials said the strikes targeted 15 regions in Ukraine — more than half the country. Water supplies and power plants were disrupted, causing widespread outages.
Russia’s latest airstrike on Ukraine
Following several recent escalations, Russia led an airstrike on Poltava – a city in central Ukraine – on Tuesday.
The attack killed at least 51 people— the highest death toll from a single attack on Ukraine this year.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said that once the air raid alarm went off, civilians had little time to seek out a bomb shelter. It’s been reported that many were killed on their way to safety.
Zelenskyy
In a post to X following the strike, President Zelenskyy said: “The Russian scum will surely pay for this strike.”
Zelenskyy urged world leaders to continue supporting his country. He said Ukraine needs “long-range solutions” to target Russian launch sites being used to bombard and airstrike Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President also called for “additional air defence systems and armoured vehicles,” during talks with Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau.
Russia did not immediately comment on the attack.
Casualties
UN data shows that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since October 2022. At least 219 civilians were killed and over 1,000 were injured, according to data cited by the UN.
Neither country has provided updated overall military death tolls, but international estimates suggest both sides have lost tens of thousands of soldiers.
Earlier this year, the UK Ministry of Defence estimated that half a million Russian soldiers had been killed or injured.
