The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a residential building in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava has risen to 14, including two children, according to the State Emergency Service. The Ukrainian government agency also said on Telegram on February 2 that "17 people were injured, including four children. 22 were rescued," adding that 194 people, including 11 children, were being helped by psychologists and that "emergency and rescue operations are ongoing.
" According to local authorities, Russian forces launched a missile strike on Poltava on February 1, hitting a high-rise apartment block in the city. A section of the building from the first to fifth floor was destroyed in the strike, reducing much it to rubble and causing a fire to break out. Eighteen apartment buildings and a kindergarten located nearby were also damaged.
The Prosecutor-General's Office reported that, according to preliminary data, the strike was carried out by a Kh-22 supersonic cruise missile. The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian regions with various types of weapons, causing widespread destruction of Ukrainian civilian sites with drones, rockets, artillery, and various types of bombs. The Kremlin has denied it targets civilian areas despite evidence of such attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he ordered military strikes on a senior “attack planner” of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Somalia who had been hiding with other members in the impoverished East Africa.