Russia has launched long-range missiles at Ukraine’s north-eastern border region of Sumy, killing at least three civilians and injuring twenty others, Ukraine’s emergency service reported on Tuesday. The attack was launched with long-range multiple-launch rocket system, preliminary investigation suggests.
“The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy – directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X. Zelenskiy said one of the projectiles used in the attack did not detonate and pierced the wall of a nine-story apartment building.
Local authorities announced a two-day mourning in the region following the attack while the region’s military administration reported that residential buildings, a medical facility and cars were targeted during the attack.
"That alone says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called 'desire' to end this war," Zelenskiy stressed, urging the US and Europe to increase pressure on Russia.
Bordering Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions, Sumy region is the constant target of Russian shelling and repeated attacks. Last month, Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian army was establishing a “security buffer zone” along the border with Ukraine in an apparent attempt to stop Ukraine’s cross-border offensives.
Zelenskiy earlier warned that Russia has accumulated some 50,000 troops at that part of the border, seeking to invade it and create a 10km buffer zone.
