Scenes of Carnage After Russian Attack on Ukrainian Military Academy and Hospital
The devastation of the strikes on Tuesday was shocking even to Ukrainians who have seen many such scenes during the war.
Marc SantoraLiubov Sholudko and Ephrat Livni
Rescue workers from the State Emergency Service were already on the scene, desperately searching for survivors, when Denys Kliap arrived. They were pulling bodies from the rubble “without legs, others without arms, some even without heads,” he said.
Shattered glass was everywhere. Nearby buildings showed gaping holes where windows and doors had been blasted off.
Mr. Kliap, the 26-year-old director of Free and Unbreakable, a volunteer rapid response team in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava, had seen many such scenes of carnage. But the devastation of the strikes on Tuesday still shocked him.
“When we arrived, the only thing I remember was the pile of bodies scattered all over the territory of the institute,” he said.
Russian missile strikes on a military academy and a neighboring hospital in Poltava, about 100 miles from the Russian border, had residents scrambling to reach shelters on Tuesday, often unsuccessfully, with many reporting that sirens sounded only very shortly before the attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes had been carried out with ballistic missiles, which can travel at supersonic speed and reach a target anywhere in Ukraine in a matter of minutes.
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An earlier version of this article misstated the position of Dmytro Lazutkin. He is a defense ministry spokesman, not the defense minister.
When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more
Marc Santora has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia. He was previously based in London as an international news editor focused on breaking news events and earlier the bureau chief for East and Central Europe, based in Warsaw. He has also reported extensively from Iraq and Africa. More about Marc Santora
Ephrat Livni is a reporter for The Times’s DealBook newsletter, based in Washington. More about Ephrat Livni
Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine
U.S. Indicts Russian Military Members: The United States expanded its hunt for Russia’s cyberwarriors, indicting five members of the country’s military intelligence agency for attacks on Ukraine and American companies in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky Plans Major Shake-Up: President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed ahead with his sweeping overhaul of the senior government ranks as the head of Ukraine’s ruling party released a slate of nine candidates for top cabinet positions.
Head of Power Company Fired: The head of Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s electric company, was reportedly blamed for failing to fortify energy infrastructure, which has come under steady Russian bombardment, leading to blackouts.
A Deadly Russian Strike: Russian missiles struck a military academy in eastern Ukraine, killing more than 50 people and underscoring Moscow’s superior firepower in one of the war’s deadliest attacks.
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