Russian Missile Strike:
At least 51 people have been killed and 271 others injured in a Russian missile strike on the city of Poltava in central Ukraine.
- Poltava is a city in east-central Ukraine.
- It is located 300 kilometres (189 miles) east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
- It lies along the Vorskla River.
- Archaeological evidence dates the city from the 8th to the 9th century, although the first documentary reference is from 1174 when it was variously known as Oltava or Ltava.
- Destroyed by the Tatars in the early 13th century, it was the centre of a Cossack regiment by the 17th century.
- In 1709, Peter I the Great inflicted a crushing defeat on Charles XII of Sweden outside Poltava after Charles had laid siege to the town for three months in the Great Northern War.
- The battle ended Sweden’s status as a major power and marked the beginning of Russian supremacy in eastern Europe.
- The modern city of Poltava is largely new, having been reconstructed after it suffered severe damage during World War II.
- It is the focus of a fertile agricultural region and has a range of industries processing farm produce.
