Kyiv: A Russian missile strike killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 180 others in Ukraine's city of Poltava on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The President said in a video that the Russian forces hit the city with two ballistic missiles, damaging a building of the Institute of Communications.
"I've received preliminary reports on the Russian strike on Poltava. According to currently available information, two ballistic missiles hit the territory of an educational institution and a nearby hospital. One of the buildings of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed. People found themselves under the rubble. Many were saved. More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, many died. As of this time, 41 people are known to have died."
Russia will pay the price: Zelenskyy
Further in the video address, the President warned Russia of dire consequences for the strike. "The Russian scum will surely pay for this strike," said Zelenskyy. Also, he made a desperate call to the leaders, urging missiles and drone systems to target Moscow. "We continue to urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: Ukraine needs air defence systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage. Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later. Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives," he added.
In Poltava, some 300 km (186 miles) southeast of Kyiv and 120 km to the nearest Russian border, governor Filip Pronin said that many residents had donated blood for the injured. Local authorities announced three days of mourning. The identities of the victims were not immediately disclosed. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a prominent Ukrainian Telegram blogger followed by many radio, communications and Electronic Warfare specialists in Ukraine's military, posted a tribute to "my signals operator comrades".
Fighting has intensified over the past month, with Russian forces advancing in heavy battles in eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv's troops have mounted their first large-scale cross-border assault into a Russian region, for which Moscow has vowed to retaliate.
(With inputs from agency)
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