SUMY, Ukraine — Russian missiles struck the guts of the Ukrainian metropolis of Sumy as individuals gathered to have fun Palm Sunday, killing at the least 34 individuals, officers mentioned, within the second large-scale assault to assert civilian lives in simply over per week.
The 2 ballistic missiles hit round 10:15 a.m., officers mentioned. Photos from the scene confirmed traces of black physique luggage on the facet of the street, whereas extra our bodies have been seen wrapped in foil blankets among the many particles. Video footage additionally confirmed hearth crews combating to extinguish the shells of burned-out vehicles among the many rubble from broken buildings.
The useless included two youngsters, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine mentioned in an announcement. An extra 117 individuals have been wounded, together with 15 youngsters, it mentioned.
“Only filthy scum can act like this — taking the lives of ordinary people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned. In an announcement on social media, he mentioned the primary strike hit buildings belonging to a metropolis college, whereas the second exploded above road stage.
The pinnacle of the Ukrainian president’s workplace, Andriy Yermak, mentioned the strike additionally used cluster munitions in an try and kill as many individuals as potential. The Related Press was unable to confirm the declare.
The assault on Sumy adopted a lethal April 4 missile strike on Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 individuals, together with 9 youngsters.
Zelenskyy known as for a world response to the assault. “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs,” he mentioned. “What’s needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves.”
Different world leaders additionally condemned the assault, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that it undermined Washington-led peace talks between the 2 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 U.S. President Trump, he wrote in an announcement.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, two ladies, ages 62 and 68, and a 48-year-old man have been killed in Russian assaults on the Kherson area, native Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin mentioned. One other individual was killed throughout Russian shelling on Ukraine’s Donetsk area, Gov. Vadym Filashkin mentioned.
The mayor of the Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, mentioned a Russian strike had hit one of many metropolis’s kindergartens, shattering home windows and damaging the constructing’s facade. No casualties have been reported.
The strikes come a day after Russia and Ukraine’s senior diplomats accused one another of violating a tentative U.S.-brokered deal to pause strikes on power infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an finish to the three-year warfare.
The 2 nations’ international ministers spoke at separate occasions through the annual Antalya Diplomacy Discussion board a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to debate peace prospects.
