KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Two Russian ballistic missiles hit a military training center and a nearby hospital in Ukraine, killing at least 50 people and injuring 200 others, authorities said on Tuesday, in one of the deadliest Russian attacks since the start of the war.
The attack took place in the city of Poltava, located in the central-eastern part of the country, and destroyed a building used by the Poltava Military Communications Institute, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"People were found under the rubble. Many were saved," said Zelenskyy in a video posted on his Telegram channel. He noted that he had ordered "a complete and immediate investigation."
Broken bricks could be seen behind the closed doors of the institution, to which the media was not allowed access, and there were puddles of blood in the vicinity.
The governor of Poltava, Filip Pronin, announced the death toll on Telegram and said that 219 people had been injured. Up to 18 people could be buried under the rubble. "A great tragedy for the Poltava region and for all of Ukraine," he wrote.
At the moment it was not clear whether the dead and injured were limited to military personnel, such as signal corps cadets, or if they included civilians.
Where is the town of Poltava located?
Poltava is located about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kiev. The city is on the main highway and railway route between Kiev and Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is near the Russian border.
The attack occurred as Ukrainian forces sought to expand the territory captured in the Russian border region of Kursk following a surprise incursion that began on August 6, and as the Russian army makes its way further into Ukraine.
The missiles hit shortly after the anti-aircraft alert sounded, when many people were heading to an air raid shelter, said the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which described the attack as "barbaric".
The attack occurred on the same day that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, visited Mongolia. There is no indication that his hosts will comply with the demands to stop him according to an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
Zelenskyy reiterated his call to Ukraine's Western partners to ensure the rapid supply of military aid. Previously, he had criticized the United States and European countries for being so slow to fulfill their aid commitments. "Long-range attacks that can protect us from Russia's terror are needed now, not later. Unfortunately, every day of delay means more lives lost," said the Ukrainian president.
They also want the restrictions on what Ukraine can attack on Russian territory with the weapons they provide to be relaxed. Some countries fear that attacking Russia could worsen the war.