"More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, there were also many dead. At the moment, 41 people are reported dead," Zelensky said.
Two Russian ballistic missiles struck a hospital and a training facility, partially destroying one of the institute's buildings, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
"The time interval between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it caught people in the middle of evacuating the bomb shelter," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, rescuers are still working after rescuing 25 people, including 11 people trapped under the rubble.
Russian military bloggers had said the strike targeted an outdoor ceremony.
Ukrainian MP Maria Bezugla, who regularly criticises Ukraine's military leadership, accused senior officials of endangering soldiers by allowing such events.
"These tragedies keep repeating themselves. When will they stop?" she wrote in Telegram.
Zelensky ordered a swift investigation into the circumstances of the strike and called for more air defense equipment from Ukraine's Western partners. | BGNES
