At least 31 people, including two children, were killed as Russia fired ballistic missiles at northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, in what became the largest-scale attack on the city since the start of the war in 2022.
The attack was launched as people were going to church for Palm Sunday. “Russia struck directly at the city center with a ballistic missile. Right at the time when the streets were full of people. A deliberate targeting of civilians on a major religious holiday,” Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in statement.
According to acting mayor of Sumy Artem Kobzar, the attack resulted in numerous casualties.
Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha noted that for the second month in a row, Russia has refused to accept the US proposal for a full ceasefire, which Ukraine unconditionally accepted on March 11. “Instead, Russia ramps up its terror,” Sybiha said. He urged Ukraine’s Western partners to provide Kyiv with additional air defense capabilities and increase pressure on Moscow. “Strength is the only language they can understand and the only way to put an end to the horrific terror.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of carrying out an act of “terror” and called for “tough response” from the rest of the world. “Enemy missiles hit an ordinary city street, ordinary life: houses, educational institutions, cars on the street … And this on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday, the feast of the lord’s entry into Jerusalem,” Zelenskiy posted on social media.
