Death Toll In Russian Attack On Poltava, Ukraine, Rises To 55

Ukrainian rescuers work at a military educational facility that was hit by missiles in Poltava, in eastern Ukraine on September 3.

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Poltava rose to 55 on September 5, the Interior Ministry said, adding that the number of wounded also rose and now stands at 328. The strike on a military communications institute on September 3 partially destroyed the institute's six-story educational building, the ministry said on Facebook. "Probably, there are still people under the rubble. Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing," the ministry said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that two ballistic missiles hit the grounds of the institute and a nearby hospital. The attack, one of the worst in the war, triggered widespread condemnation. Washington denounced it as "another horrific reminder of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's brutality."