Death toll rises to 51 following Russian strike on Poltava, 219 people injured

The number of people killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike on an institute in Poltava on 3 September has risen to 51, with 219 people injured in the attack.

Source: Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s First Lady, on X; Dmytro Lazutkin, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, on Ukraine’s national 24/7 newscast; Prosecutor General’s Office

Quote from Zelenska: "This is a shocking tragedy for the whole of Ukraine. The enemy hit an educational institution and a hospital."

Details: Zelenska also offered her condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

Lazutkin later said that the number of people killed in the attack stood at 49, while the number of injured people had risen to 219. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Lazutkin said classes had been underway at the institute when the Russians attacked. An air-raid alarm was sounded at 09:08 (Kyiv time), and students and staff were making their way to a bomb shelter when, moments later, explosions rocked the building.

Quote from Lazutkin: "[Students] were not being lined up at the time of the attack."

Update: At 18:20, the Office of the Prosecutor General announced that the death toll stood at 51. A pre-trial investigation has commenced into violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity and inviolability (Article 110 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code).

According to the investigation, the Russian armed forces launched the airstrike on Poltava on 3 September using two Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

Background:

• Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on an educational institution in the city of Poltava on 3 September. According to early reports, more than 40 people have been killed, nearly 200 have been injured, and many people are still trapped under the rubble.
• Commenting on the Russian ballistic missile strike on Poltava later that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that as of 14:20, 41 people were known to have been killed.
• Three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian strike on the Institute of Communication in the city of Poltava will begin in Poltava Oblast on 4 September.

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