Deadliest Missile Attack Strikes Poltava's Military Institute and Nearby Hospital
At approximately 9:10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, two missiles struck the Military Institute of Telecommunications in Poltava, central Ukraine, unexpectedly hitting the hospital adjacent to the institute as well. The attack occurred around 8:10 a.m. in Paris, and many witnesses reported that several hundred individuals were present on the university grounds, which are surrounded by trees and residential buildings, rendering the site inaccessible early in the evening. As of that time, the death toll had risen to at least 51, with over 200 individuals reported injured, and there is a somber expectation that these numbers will continue to rise, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. This bombing could be the deadliest incident in Ukraine since the onset of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Poltava, a regional capital with nearly 300,000 residents, typically welcomes a large influx of students each year, particularly those enrolled at the military institute as the new academic year commences. Nikita, a 26-year-old programmer from Odesa, recounted his experience of the tragic event, stating that classes had begun at 8:20 a.m. in a large instructional building. After being conscripted against his will on June 11 under new mobilization laws, he began a month-long training course at the telecommunications school a week prior.
On the day of the missile strikes, an alert was issued at the school and on mobile phones. In less than two minutes, the first missile struck the main building, followed closely by a second hit. Nikita observed the chaos that ensued, explaining that the strikes caught many students off guard as they attempted to evacuate to other safer locations within the campus. Warning that most casualties occurred among those who were outside or on lower floors of the building as the missiles impacted around the third floor, he mentioned that he personally was in a crowd on the first floor, sustaining only minor injuries from shards of glass.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the tragedy by ordering a full and rapid investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attacks, which have drawn public outrage and concern. Ukrainian military bloggers speculated that the missiles were aimed at an official public military ceremony; however, soldiers on-site, including Nikita, firmly stated that no such gathering had taken place that day.
Interestingly, the Poltava region had remained relatively unscathed in previous conflicts, aside from a tragic drone attack targeting a supermarket in Kremenchuk in June 2022 that resulted in 20 fatalities, and a series of strikes on the Myrgorod airfield. Just days prior on August 30, an industrial site in Poltava was the target of a drone attack but fortunately resulted in no casualties.
In the wake of the attack, the streets of Poltava—known for its picturesque tree-lined avenues—stayed filled with people, signifying a community in mourning yet resilient in the face of adversity. The tragedy at the Military Institute of Telecommunications reminds us of the persistent dangers lurking in areas once considered safe, and the human cost of conflict continues to reverberate through Ukraine as the nation grapples with the ongoing war.
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