More than 30 people dead, 84 hurt in Russian missile attack
KYIV: Russian missiles struck the heart of the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, killing at least 34 people, officials said, in the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week.
The two ballistic missiles hit around 10:15 am, officials said. Images from the scene showed lines of black body bags on the side of the road, while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris. Video footage also showed fire crews fighting to extinguish the shells of burned-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings.
The dead included two children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement. A further 117 people were wounded, including 15 children, it said.
“Only filthy scum can act like this — taking the lives of ordinary people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the strike also used cluster munitions in an attempt to kill as many people as possible. The Associated Press was unable to verify the claim.
The attack on Sumy followed a deadly missile strike on Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 that killed some 20 people, including nine children.
Zelenskyy 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.
Other world leaders also condemned the attack, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that it undermined Washington-led peace talks between the two sides.
“Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” he wrote in a statement.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, a 62-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man were killed in Russian attacks on the Kherson region, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Sunday. Another person was killed during Russian shelling on Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said a Russian strike had hit one of the city’s kindergartens, shattering windows and damaging the building’s facade. No casualties were reported.
Despite peace talks, fears of a spring offensive persist as Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a US-brokered pause on strikes. At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, both foreign ministers traded blame. Ukraine claims Russia has launched thousands of attacks on civilians, while Moscow alleges daily Ukrainian assaults. Kyiv supports a wider ceasefire, but Russian demands have blocked progress. Western officials warn that Moscow is stalling to gain advantage before launching renewed
military action.
