Death toll following Russian strike on Poltava rises to 49, 219 civilians injured

An ambulance. Stock photo: Getty Images

The number of casualties of the Russian ballistic missile strike on Poltava on 3 September has risen to 49; 219 civilians were injured in the attack.

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

Quote: “Enemy forces struck an educational institution and a hospital. So far, 47 have been reported dead and another 206 sustained injuries.”

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Details: Zelenska also offered her condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the Russian missile strike on Poltava.

Lazutkin later said that the number of people killed in the attack stood at 49, while the number of casualties had risen to 219. Search and rescue operations were still ongoing at the time of his speaking.

According to Lazutkin, classes were underway at the institute attacked by the Russians at the time of the attack. An air-raid alarm was sounded at 09:08 (Kyiv time) and students and staff proceeded to a bomb shelter. Explosions rocked the building several moments later.

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

Background:

• Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on one of the educational institutions in the city of Poltava on 3 September. According to early reports, more than 40 people have been killed, nearly 200 have sustained injuries, and many people were still trapped under the rubble.
• Later the same day, in a comment about the Russian ballistic missile strike on Poltava, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at the time of his speaking, 41 people were known to have been killed.
• Three days of mourning for the people killed in the Russian strike on the Institute of Communication in the city of Poltava will begin in Poltava Oblast on 4 September.

This news has been updated since publication.

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