Missiles kill 51 in one of Russia’s deadliest strikes on Ukraine

At least 51 people died when two Russian ballistic missiles hit a military academy in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said a military building had been “partially destroyed”, leaving people “under the rubble”.

The attack was one of the deadliest since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. Filip Pronin, Poltava’s regional governor, said on Monday afternoon that more than 200 people injured and the death toll could still rise.

Footage of the aftermath showed the entire side of a seven-storey building ripped off by the explosion, while a gaping hole was left in another wing of the structure.

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Photographs showed multiple bodies strewn across the ground in a litter of rubble, glass and dust. A neighbouring hospital was also struck.

Ukrainian news outlets reported that cadets training at the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies were among the dead.

Ukraine’s defence ministry wrote: “The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly rockets was so short that it caught people at the moment of evacuation to the bomb shelter.”

Joe Biden said he condemned the “deplorable attack in the strongest possible terms” as he vowed to continue to support Ukraine.

Mr Biden said in a statement: “This assault is a tragic reminder of Putin’s ongoing and outrageous attempts to break the will of a free people. But for two and a half years, the people of Ukraine have stood unbowed. And the United States will continue [to] stand with them—including providing the air defense systems and capabilities they need to protect their country.

“Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this war. The people of Ukraine will prevail. And on this tragic day, and every day, the United States stands with them.”

Ukraine’s second city

Poltava, a city of more than 280,000, is a key military hub, with airfields and training bases, about 100 miles from the border with Russia. It lies on the main road connecting Kyiv to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.

Mr Zelensky said he had “ordered a full and prompt investigation into all of the circumstances”, in a video message posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian sources celebrated the strikes, declaring their forces had killed Ukrainian recruits training in electronic warfare and radar devices used on the front line.

“Judging by the wave of videos from Poltava ... the Russian strike on the local communications training centre turned out to be extremely effective,” Rybar, an authoritative Russian military blog, wrote.

Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Kremlin video blogger, said: “Over 300 people: basically down a battalion. And as I understand, they were not conscripts but highly qualified military specialists.”

The claims could not be independently verified.

Ukraine’s military leaders castigated

The devastating attack drew harsh criticism of the leadership in Kyiv.

“This isn’t the first time Russia has targeted crowded facilities,” Frontelligence Insight, an analytical group run by a former Ukrainian officer, said. “It seems many generals still haven’t learned some basic lessons, even in the third year of the war.”

Illia Ponomarenko, a respected Ukrainian war journalist, wrote on social media: “Zelensky has vowed to investigate the tragic incident, but this is not enough. It is not enough to issue a statement and then let it all be gone – again.”

There have been similar attacks throughout the war. Last autumn, 19 Ukrainian soldiers were killed by Russian missiles in the southern Zaporizhzhia region as they stood in formation at a medal ceremony.

John Foreman, a former British military attache in Moscow, said: “It’s astonishing – two-and-a-half years into the war, knowing Russian murderous intent, and within easy missile range – that Ukrainian military commanders allowed a large number of personnel to be concentrated at a known military site in Poltava.”

He added that the decision not to disperse the soldiers showed “the legacy of rigid Soviet-style thinking in some parts of the Ukrainian military” despite the “tremendous progress within the Ukrainian armed forces”.

03:30 PM BST

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Here’s a reminder of today’s events:

• Vladimir Putin was given a red-carpet welcome in Mongolia despite the country being party to the ICC’s Rome Statute - which requires members to act upon the court’s arrest warrants

• A British-led fund backing Ukraine reached £1 billion in promised support for its war against Russia

• Russian strikes have killed at least 47 people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava, in what appears to be the deadliest attack on the country since the war began

03:15 PM BST

Death toll rises to 47

Ukraine’s first lady has said the number killed in Poltava has risen to 47, with 206 known to have been wounded.

Olena Zelenska described the attack as a “tragedy” and said Russia is “always taking away the most valuable thing from us - life”.

03:04 PM BST

Ukraine’s first underground military hospital opens

The first underground military hospital has started operating in Ukraine.

The hospital has surgical and intensive care units equipped according to Nato standards and can accommodate more than 100 wounded soldiers, according to the defense ministry.

02:49 PM BST

Watch: Aftermath of deadly Russian missile attack on Poltava

Several floors were destroyed in a building hit by a Russian missile strike in the central-eastern city of Poltava.

Footage shows rubble littered across the roads surrounding the buildings whilst shouting and barking dogs can be heard in the background.

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02:29 PM BST

Where is Poltava?

The strike took place this morning in Poltava - a city with a pre-war population of around 300,000 people and sat around 130km (81 miles) south-west from Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.

There had been some reports from Russian military bloggers that the strike targeted an outdoor ceremony, however Poltava governor Philip Pronin said his administration could not provide more details of the circumstances of the strike for “security reasons”.

One of the buildings of the Poltava military communications institute, which was founded in the 1960s and specialises in telecommunications training, was partially destroyed, the defence ministry said.

02:09 PM BST

Poltava declares three days of mourning

Three days of mourning have been declared in Poltava, regional leader Philip Pronin has said.

From tomorrow, the region will mourn all 41 people killed in a Russian missile attack on the central-eastern city.

Mr Pronin wrote on Telegram: “Bright memory to all the dead”.

01:42 PM BST

‘A terrible day for Poltava,’ says regional leader

Philip Pronin, Poltava’s regional leader, offered his condolences on Tuesday to “all families who lost their loved ones today”.

In a statement on Telegram, Mr Pronin said Tuesday had been “a terrible day for Poltava”.

01:37 PM BST

Rescuers still working to save trapped Ukrainians

Rescuers were still at work on Tuesday afternoon after saving 25 people, including 11 trapped under the rubble, according to the ministry.

01:11 PM BST

Zelensky: we need air defence systems now

President Zelensky has repeated his call for Ukraine’s western allies to deliver military aid.

He said he wants the US and European countries to ease restrictions on what Ukraine can target on Russian soil with the weapons they provide.

The Ukrainian leader wrote on Telegram: “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.”

12:57 PM BST

Ukraine demands Mongolia arrests visiting Putin

Mongolia has been accused of “sharing responsibility” for Vladimir Putin’s “war crimes” after authorities did not arrest him during an official visit on Tuesday.

Kyiv joined human rights campaigners in urging Mongolia to execute the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant, which was issued last year, insisting it had an “obligation” to do so.

But the Russian leader was instead welcomed by a guard of honour as he landed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, to begin his high-profile trip.

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It comes at a time when Putin claims Russian troops are “advancing rapidly” in eastern Ukraine, as it continues its assault on the city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub targeted for months by Moscow.

Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Ukrainian forces have faced difficulty on the eastern front, particularly near Pokrovsk, but said Russian forces had not advanced for two days.

12:22 PM BST

Moscow sees ‘very high risk’ of serious accident at Kursk nuclear plant

Moscow believes there is a “very high risk” of an accident occurring at a nuclear plant in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have continued their invasion since launching a daring assault last month.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog visited the plant last week and warned of the risk of a serious accident, after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking it with drones.

12:01 PM BST

Zelensky celebrates Ukraine’s Paralympics medals

11:44 AM BST

Ukraine and US ‘close to agreement on long-range missiles’

The US is close to an agreement to give Ukraine long-range cruise missiles that could reach deep into Russia, officials told Reuters.

But Kyiv would need to wait several months as the US works through technical issues ahead of any shipment.

The inclusion of joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSM) in a weapons package is expected to be announced this autumn, three sources said, though a final decision has not been made.

11:11 AM BST

British-led Ukraine fund promises £1bn in support

A British-led fund to support Ukraine has now promised £1 billion support for Kyiv in its war against the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov visited the UK on Tuesday to mark the milestone.

John Healey used their meeting to confirm a £300 million contract had been signed to manufacture and supply 120,000 152mm artillery shells for Ukraine’s Soviet-era guns.

“UK military equipment continues to prove invaluable for Ukraine’s war effort. The ongoing defensive operation in Kursk underlines the crucial importance of continued support. And today’s milestone for the International Fund for Ukraine shows the value of working with our Allies to deliver that support,” Mr Healey said.

The International Fund for Ukraine was established in 2022 by the UK and has since seen eight other Western governments join the scheme to pledge money.

The scheme has been used to buy air-defence systems, maritime drones, minefield-clearing equipment and spare parts for fighting vehicles.

It is separate from Britain’s pledge to provide £3 billion a year in annual military support to Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

10:43 AM BST

Drone drops ‘molten thermite’ to ‘smoke out’ Russian soldiers

A Ukrainian drone has dropped a stream of molten metal to “smoke out” Russian soldiers hiding in the woods, it has been reported.

Video footage released yesterday on Telegram showed what appeared to be a Ukrainian drone releasing a stream of fire, identified by local media as molten termite, on hidden Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhya region, south east of the country.

The publishers of the video, Telegram channel CyberBoroshno, wrote: “The 108th Territorial Defense Brigade is burning out the wooded area with an FPV drone to target russian occupiers.”

The use of thermite munitions against Russian forces is not new to the conflict, but it is the first time they have been dropped from the air, the Kyiv Independant reported.

Thermite weapons disperse thousands of tiny pieces of molten metal burning at high temperatures.

Human Rights Watch said the weapons can lead to “extensive and excruciating burns” and can lead to “a lifetime of suffering” if survived.

Read the full story here.

09:20 AM BST

Mongolia’s stance on Ukraine

Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin after he was accused of abducting children from Ukraine.

Naturally, the Russian leader has restricted international visits to countries that are not party to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

But that changed on Monday when he visited Mongolia, which is supposed to act upon the court’s warrants.

However, there is little surprise about Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin, given that it is a landlocked country that is highly dependent on Moscow for fuel and electricity.

It has also refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has abstained during votes on the war at the United Nations.

Putin was welcomed in a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, on Monday by an honour guard dressed in uniforms styled by Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire.

The Russian leader was joined by Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, the Mongolian president, as he walked up the red-carpeted steps of the government palace.

08:57 AM BST

Boy, eight, among three killed in attacks on Ukraine

An eight-year-old boy and his mother were killed overnight in a Russian strike on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, local officials said.

A third person was also killed in an overnight missile attack on the central city of Dnipro.

Moscow has stepped up its attacks against Ukraine over the last few days, with 313 strikes across 11 settlements around Zaporizhzhia.

08:46 AM BST

Putin’s silent killer is choking Ukraine’s regiments

The grinding trench warfare across the Donbass in Ukraine is experiencing a new silent killer, which has allowed the Russian invaders to make gains around Chasiv Yar and Bakmut early in the year and in the Pokrovsk area today – gas.

Though hardly a new form of warfare, it was gas that broke the deadlock of trench warfare in April 1915 when the Germans unleashed Chlorine on unsuspecting and unprepared allied troops, who had to turn and run.

The results are the same in Ukraine over 100 years later.

Read the full story here.

08:31 AM BST

Belgorod ramps up air defences

Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has ramped up its air defence systems as Kyiv continues its attacks on the area.

Ukrainian forces stepped its attacks in the region following its invasion of Kursk, which neighbours Belgorod.

08:10 AM BST

Pictured: Protester waves Ukrainian flag in Mongolian capital

07:58 AM BST

Russia taking several square kilometres per day, says Putin

Russian troops are taking several square kilometres per day in eastern Ukraine as they continue their march towards Pokrovsk, Vladimir Putin has claimed.

“We have not had such a pace in the offensive in Donbas (region) for a long time,” Putin told children at at a secondary school in Tuva, a remote Russian republic, on Monday.

“Now we are not talking about moving 200 or 300 metres (660 or 1,000 feet) forward ... The Russian armed forces are already bringing territories under control not by 200 to 300 metres but by square kilometres.”

07:51 AM BST

Failure to arrest Putin ‘undermines ICC’

Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin could undermine the ICC’s legitimacy, all while emboldening Putin, Amnesty International has warned.

“President Putin is a fugitive from justice,” Altantuya Batdorj, executive director of Amnesty International Mongolia, said in a statement.

“Any trip to an ICC member state that does not end in arrest will encourage President Putin’s current course of action and must be seen as part of a strategic effort to undermine the ICC’s work.”

07:46 AM BST

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