Russia killed 41 people in Ukraine in a single massive airstrike

• 41 people are dead after an airstrike on Poltava, Ukraine, its president said.
• Ukrainian officials said two Russian ballistic missiles hit the city.

Russia killed at least 41 people and injured 180 in an airstrike on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

Two ballistic missiles struck the city of Poltava, Zelenskyy said, citing preliminary information.

He said that the death and injury figures were also provisional.

They dwarf the scale of Russia's regular missile-and-drone attacks on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian defense ministry the attack was so deadly because it came without much warning, and struck before people could evacuate.

Per Zelenskyy, the strike hit a military communications center, a medical facility, and an unspecified educational facility.

Ukraine's Military Institute of Communications is in Poltava.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.