[Source: Reuters]

At least 50 people were killed and 271 wounded when Russia hit a military institute in Ukraine’s central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the war’s deadliest single attack this year.

Photographs posted on social media showed several bodies of young men on the ground covered in dust and debris, with the badly damaged side of a large building behind them. Reuters could not immediately verify the images.

He ordered a full and prompt investigation, saying the strike damaged a building of the Military Institute of Communications.

The emergency service gave the death toll of 50; other officials said 51 were killed. A further 15 people may still be under the rubble, according to Poltava regional governor Filip Pronin.

Ukraine’s land forces said military personnel had been killed. They did not specify how many of the victims were from the armed forces, but the attack was a major blow to Kyiv as it tries to bolster its ranks to hold off a more powerful enemy.