Ukraine is mourning the victims of Russia’s ballistic missile assault on Sumy, which killed at the least 35 folks, together with kids, and wounded 119.
Two ballistic missiles hit the town at round 10:15am, in accordance with Ukrainian officers, putting an space housing various non secular buildings the place many residents have been gathering to have a good time Palm Sunday.
“That is the centre of the town, the central half, and yesterday was a giant non secular vacation. There are non secular buildings on either side of the road the place the shelling happened. Folks have been going to worship, so there have been quite a lot of injured and wounded folks,” defined Oleh Strilka, a spokesperson for Emergency Service in Sumy area.
Strilka described how fireplace crews battled to place out the stays of burned-out vehicles scattered among the many rubble of broken buildings and mentioned emergency groups have been nonetheless clearing shards of glass the day after the assault.
Many individuals have gathered to put flowers at makeshift memorials in honour of the deceased.
Worldwide condemnation
European leaders have condemned the assault as a battle crime, with Polish Overseas Minister Radek Sikorski, calling the strikes “Russia’s mocking reply” to Kyiv’s settlement to a ceasefire proposed by the US over a month in the past.
Finnish Overseas Minister Elina Valtonen additionally identified that the assault on Sumy occurred simply after President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, visited Saint Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She said that this highlights how “Russia exhibits full disregard for the peace course of, but in addition that Russia has zero regard for human life.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed the worldwide response to Russia’s assault however says extra stress on Moscow is required to carry an finish to the battle.
“Solely actual stress on Russia can cease this. We want tangible sanctions towards these sectors that finance the Russian killing machine,” he wrote on X.
Talking in his nightly deal with on Monday, the Ukrainian President mentioned “Russian state propagandists are making ready their viewers for the truth that negotiations and diplomacy won’t work”.
“They aren’t afraid in Moscow proper now. And if there may be not sufficient stress on Russia, they’ll proceed to do what they’re used to – proceed to struggle,” he added.
In the meantime Russian international minister Sergei Lavrov claims the missiles have been focusing on “Ukrainian navy commanders and their Western colleagues” in Sumy, accusing Kyiv of utilizing civilians as shields by holding navy conferences within the metropolis’s centre.
The Russian defence ministry additionally said the assault killed greater than 60 troops, however didn’t provide any proof to again its claims.
