At least 41 killed, 180 injured in Russian airstrike, Zelensky says

At least 41 people have been killed and more than 180 injured in a Russian missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on Tuesday.

Two ballistic missiles targeted "an educational institution and a nearby hospital" in the area, Zelensky said.

A building of the telecommunications institute was also destroyed, according to the president.

"We continue to urge everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage," Zelensky said.

Unverified images circulating on social media showed dead bodies lying in front of a heavily-damaged multi-storey building, said to be the military institute for telecommunications of the Kiev Polytechnic in Poltava.

According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, at least 25 people were rescued from the rubble. In the neighbouring residential area, windows were destroyed and facades damaged by the blast wave.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than two years, relying heavily on weapons and air defence systems supplied by Western partners.

Zelensky has been calling on his allies almost every day to ramp up deliveries to allow Ukraine to better protect Ukrainian cities against Russian airstrikes. He has also been demanding longer-range weapons to be able to strike targets deep into Russian territory.

8-year-old reportedly killed in attack on Zaporizhzhya

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities reported civilians had been killed and others injured by Russian air and artillery attacks elsewhere in Ukraine.

In the city of Zaporizhzhya, shells struck after a visit by Zelensky on Monday evening, killing two people.

One victim was an 8-year-old boy, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram. One building was damaged. Zelensky met with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof on the frontline near Zaporizhzhya on Monday.

In the city of Dnipro, one man was killed and six people injured by rocket fire, according to the local administration. Reports said a transformer station was hit in the region.

In the north-eastern Sumy region, Russian glide bombs and artillery shells have hit numerous locations since Monday. Three people were injured.

Supplies for Ukrainian troops during their offensive in the Russian region of Kursk pass through the Sumy region on the border with Russia.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 27 of 35 Russian combat drones of Iranian design had been shot down overnight.

Russia has been waging an all-out war against Ukraine since February 24, 2022.