Ukraine says soldiers among 51 killed in Poltava missile attack

At slightest 51 radical person been killed and much than 200 others injured successful a Russian rocket onslaught connected the metropolis of Poltava, successful cardinal Ukraine.

A subject communications institute and a adjacent infirmary were hit. Ukraine's onshore forces confirmed that subject unit were killed successful the attack.

People did not person capable clip to get to weaponry shelters aft the aerial raid alarm sounded, Ukraine's ministry of defence said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that what helium called "Russian scum" would wage for the attack, and repeated calls for much aerial defences truthful that Ukraine could support itself by carrying retired its ain long-range rocket attacks. Moscow has not commented connected the attack.

Teaching was successful advancement astatine the Poltava Military Communications Institute erstwhile the missiles hit, a aboriginal connection from Ukraine's defence ministry said.

Earlier reports from Russian subject bloggers had suggested that cadets were gathered astatine a subject parade being held astatine the institute, but the ministry confirmed determination was nary parade happening astatine the clip of the strike.

Alarms sounded astatine 09:08 (07:08 BST) and everyone headed to the shelter, the defence ministry added, and the explosions started a fewer minutes aft the alarms.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC the 2 minutes betwixt the aerial raid siren successful Poltava and the missiles landing was "nothing".

"You conscionable ideate you're connected the sixth level of immoderate gathering and you request to tally distant downstairs. Is it realistic that you tin bash this successful 2 minutes?" helium said.

"Just ideate this beingness and similar this respective times per day. We can't proceed similar this. It's conscionable not fair."

In a connection connected Telegram which confirmed the deaths of the subject personnel, Ukraine's onshore forces said an probe was nether mode to found whether capable was done to support those successful the installation the rocket hit.

It confirmed further measures to guarantee information astatine subject facilities volition beryllium increased.

One Poltava resident, Olena Serdyuk, said: "The aerial raid alert started successful conscionable a minute, and past determination were 2 explosions.

"At home, we instantly ran into the bath with the child, but past gathered ourselves". She added that determination is nary weaponry structure "in our radius", and it "takes a agelong clip to tally somewhere".

Another local, Anastasiia Artyukh, heard "two precise beardown explosions" and called the concern "really scary".

"There is simply a location nearby, everything was blown out, each the windows. We don't person a basement successful our house. So our lone enactment was to beryllium [and wait]."

Poltava determination politician Philip Pronin called the onslaught a "cunning and cynical Russian strike," and aboriginal said that 15 radical were inactive thought to beryllium trapped nether the rubble.

Mr Pronin said hunt groups were connected site, and that 10 residential buildings had been damaged successful the attack.

More details could not instantly beryllium fixed owed to information reasons, helium said.

Ukraine's archetypal woman Olena Zelenska posted connected X calling the onslaught "a stunning calamity for each of Ukraine," and added: "Russia is taking distant the astir invaluable happening from america - life."

In a video connected the Ukrainian statesmanlike website, President Zelensky said Russia would beryllium held accountable for the strike.

In the clip, which was besides posted connected X, Mr Zelensky said a "full and prompt" probe had been ordered and that "all indispensable services are progressive successful the rescue operation".

He went connected to accidental that Ukraine needed long-range aerial defence systems "that tin support america from Russian terror" and added that "every time of delay, unfortunately, means much mislaid lives".

The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the "sickening enactment of aggression successful Putin’s abhorrent and amerciable warfare successful Ukraine," and said "my thoughts are with each the victims and their loved ones."

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Vladimir Putin "knows nary limits to brutality".

There has besides been disapproval of the Ukrainian authorities successful the aftermath of the attack.

Maria Bezugla, a Ukrainian MP who often criticizes the country's subject leadership, accused officials of putting soldiers successful danger.

"These tragedies support repeating themselves. When volition it stop?" she wrote connected Telegram.

The onslaught connected the subject institute successful Poltava came arsenic Russian person Vladimir Putin arrived successful Mongolia - his archetypal sojourn to an International Criminal Court (ICC) subordinate since it issued a warrant for his apprehension past year.

He was welcomed by Mongolia's person astatine a lavish ceremonial successful the Asian nation's superior Ulaanbaatar connected Tuesday.

Ahead of his visit, Ukraine had urged Mongolia to apprehension Mr Putin.

"We telephone connected the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory planetary apprehension warrant and transportation Putin to the International Criminal Court successful the Hague," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said connected Telegram.

The tribunal alleged past twelvemonth that the Russian president was liable for warfare crimes, focusing connected the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Poltava, located successful cardinal Ukraine, had a pre-war colonisation of 300,000 and is located 300 kilometres (189 miles) eastbound of Kyiv.

Founded successful the 1960s, erstwhile Ukraine was inactive portion of the USSR, the Poltava subject communications institute trains telecommunications specialists.