Putin's brutality 'knows no limits': US, UK, Germany condemn Russian strike on Ukraine's Poltava as toll touches 51

Hours after dozens of Ukrainians were killed in a Russian missile attack on the central city of Poltava, the US on Tuesday said that the attack showed the need to urgently strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses while UK called the attack “sickening act of aggression”.

The attack was “another horrific reminder of Putin’s brutality towards the people in Ukraine,” AFP quoted US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby as telling reporters, adding that the US would send more military aid to Kyiv in the coming weeks.

As the death toll of the attack rose to 51 according to Ukrainian officials, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement on X, “Russia’s strikes on Poltava are the latest sickening act of aggression in Putin’s abhorrent and illegal war in Ukraine.”

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Russia's strikes on Poltava are the latest sickening act of aggression in Putin’s abhorrent and illegal war in Ukraine.

My thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones.

We stand with Ukraine.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 3, 2024

“My thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones. We stand with Ukraine,” added Lammy.

Germany said President Vladimir Putin’s brutality “knows no limits” and he should be held accountable.

“He must be held accountable,” Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on X, after one of the deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.

In one of the single deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war, at least 51 people were killed and hundreds injured in the strike, authorities said,

Kyiv said the strike hit a military education facility and a nearby hospital, but authorities did not say how many of the victims were military or civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to hold what he called “Russian scum” accountable, while rescuers worked to clear the rubble.

“As of 6 pm (1500 GMT), 51 people were killed and over 200 wounded in the attack,” the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said.

The strike triggered anger on Ukrainian social media after unconfirmed reports said it had targeted an outdoor military ceremony, with many blaming reckless behaviour from officials who allowed the event to take place despite the threat of Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy said he had ordered a “full and prompt investigation into all the circumstances”.

Two Russian ballistic missiles hit the hospital and educational institution, partially destroying one of the buildings, Zelenskyy said.

The strike took place in the morning in Poltava, a city with a pre-war population of around 300,000 people, some 300 kilometres (189 miles) east of Kyiv.

With inputs from agencies