Russia claims military forces were target of deadly attack on Ukraine’s Sumy
Condemnation over Moscow’s attacks on civilian areas is growing.
Russia has claimed its deadly missile attack on Ukraine’s Sumy that killed and wounded scores of people including children had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, as European leaders condemned the assault as a war crime.
Ukrainian officials said two ballistic missiles struck the heart of Sumy, a city about 18 miles away from Ukraine’s border with Russia, as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, killing at least 34, including two children, and injuring 119 others.
It is the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week.
When questioned about the incident, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s forces only strike military targets.
The defence ministry in Moscow added that the strike had targeted a gathering of senior military officers, and accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city centre.
The ministry also claimed to have killed more than 60 troops. Russia gave no evidence to back its claims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a global response to the attack, saying the first strike hit university buildings while the second exploded above street level.
He wrote on social media: “Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need tangible sanctions against those sectors that finance the Russian killing machine.”
Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, said that the recent attacks are “Russia’s mocking answer” to Kyiv’s agreement to a ceasefire proposed by the US administration over a month ago.
“I hope that President Trump, the US administration, see that the leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill, and I hope the right decisions are taken,” Mr Sikorski told reporters in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers met.
His Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen noted that the attack on Sumy came shortly after US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in St Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She said it demonstrates that “Russia shows full disregard for the peace process, but also that Russia has zero regard for human life”.
Lithuania’s foreign minister Kestutis Budrys said the Russian strike used cluster munitions to target civilians in what he called “a war crime by definition.”
France’s top diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack shows that Mr Putin has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire.
“He must therefore be forced to do so, and that’s why I’m calling on the European Union to take the toughest sanctions against Russia to suffocate its economy and prevent it from fuelling its war effort.”
The EU has imposed 16 rounds of sanctions on Russia and is working on a 17th package, but the measures are getting harder to agree on as they also affect European economies.
Germany’s chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, described the Sumy attack as “a serious war crime”.
Mr Merz said that, three days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was in Moscow, Russia attacked a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
“Evidently, he (Mr Putin) interprets our readiness to speak to him not as a serious offer to make peace possible, but as weakness,” Mr Merz said in an appearance on ARD television.
The German leader made clear that he stands by his past calls to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, something that outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to do.
He said that the Ukrainian military needs to be able to “get ahead of the situation” and that any delivery of long-range missiles must be done in consultation with European partners.
Two children were killed and 15 others were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
“Only filthy scum can act like this – taking the lives of ordinary people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on social media, adding that the first strike hit city university buildings, while the second exploded above street level.
The head of the Ukrainian President’s office, Andriy Yermak, said cluster munitions were used to kill as many people as possible. The Associated Press was unable to verify that claim.
The attack on Sumy followed a deadly April 4 missile strike on Mr Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including nine children.
Mr Zelensky called for a global response to the attack. “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What’s needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said.
After being asked about the attack, Mr Trump said on Sunday evening that he was trying to get the war stopped.
“I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington.
He did not clarify whether he was saying the attack was unintentional.
Late on Sunday, Russian exploding drones attacked Odesa, injuring eight people. Regional head Oleh Kiper said a medical facility was among the buildings damaged.
Russia fired a total of 62 Shahed drones over Ukraine from Sunday night into Monday morning, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that 40 were destroyed and 11 others jammed.
