War in Ukraine – Analysis: Why Russia targeted Poltava

The city of Poltava experiences a “terrifying day” after a “barbar attack” by its Ministry of Defence. Two Iskander ballistic missiles from Russia hit the city of Poltava in Ukraine leaving behind at least 41 dead and 180 injured. “There was so little time between the air raid siren and the arrival of missiles that people were injured on the way to the shelters,” the ministry said. The hit confirmed Volontimir Zelensky with a video he recovered on Telegram saying Russian forces hit the city with two ballistic missiles, causing damage to a Communications Institute building. “I received preliminary reports on the Russian hit in Poltava. According to the information available, these were two ballistic missiles. Training Foundation and nearby hospital were hit. One of the buildings of the Communications Institute was partially destroyed. People are under the ruins. More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, many died,” the Ukrainian president said. Russia also promised to answer and once again called on Kiev’s western allies to urgently deliver more air defence systems and allow Ukraine to hit deep on Russian territory with long-range missiles. But why did Russia target Poltava? This is a very black day for Ukraine, the BBC notes in an analysis. The number of dead and wounded is extremely high. The goal was Poltava, the main city in an area of eastern-central Ukraine away from the front line. Occupiers hacked Poltava: 41 people killed, more than 180Wounded According to preliminary reports, the Russian army launched ballistic strikes on the building of the Institute of Communications and a neary hospital. — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) The defence ministry is talking about two ballistic missiles, so the Russian army knew exactly what it was targeting, notes in an analysis of the BBC. Poltava is about 140 km from the Russian border and although the city and wider area have been under regular missile attacks, they have not accepted the bombings of areas closest to the eastern front. The city, with a population of over 300,000, has become the home of refugees since Russia’s attack to the east. Earlier in the summer, Russia targeted an airport in the Poltava area, claiming to have destroyed Ukrainian war aircraft. But today’s attack hit the city itself, partially destroying a building, burying people in the wreckage. There seems to have been very little warning of the imminent attack, so those inside had no time to seek refuge. Military analyst Sean Bell tells Skynews that the killing hit on Poltava shows what his priority is, and this is not Kiev although Russia has intensified the missile attacks on Kiev and other cities of Ukraine over the last year as a retaliation for “It is not a great surprise that Russia is responding [to the invasion of Kursk] by sending as many missiles as possible to Ukrainian territory, and not all are against military targets.” The military analyst continued: “All this coincides with the beginning of the school season in Ukraine”. “Despite the Ukrainians pushing towards Kursk, despite launching many long-range missiles towards Russia, it is quite clear what is President Putin’s priority right now – namely the “special military operation” and the occupation of the Donbas region, which he has not yet”. Information from BBC, Skynews