World Leaders Slam Deadly Russian Strike on Ukraine

Zelensky stressed that the attack occurred on Palm Sunday, a major Christian feast.

“Only completely deranged scum can do something like this,” he said in his Sunday evening address.

Emergency services said the missiles killed 34 people, including two children, and wounded 117, including 15 children.

People ran for cover amid burning cars and the dead were seen covered in silver sheets at the scene where rescuers worked through the rubble of a building near a destroyed trolleybus.

Zelensky said eight injured people were in serious condition.

The Russian attack damaged 20 buildings in total, including a university, five apartment buildings, cafes, shops and the district court, he added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed and shocked” by the strike, which highlighted a “devastating pattern of similar assaults on Ukrainian cities and towns in recent weeks,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

‘A lot of corpses’

The head of Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Telegram that Russia had used two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles on Sumy.

One witness told AFP she heard two explosions.

“A lot of people were very badly injured. A lot of corpses,” she said, struggling to speak.

It was the second Russian attack this month to cause a large civilian death toll. An attack on Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvi Rih killed at least 18 people, including nine children.

Trump is pushing for a quick end to the war, with the United States holding direct talks with Russia despite its unrelenting attacks on Ukraine.

Washington has also held talks with Ukrainian officials on a potential truce, while European nations are discussing a military deployment to reinforce any Ukraine ceasefire.

Kyiv has previously agreed to a U.S.-proposed unconditional ceasefire but Moscow has turned it down.

Zelensky called on the United States and Europe to give a “strong response” to Russia, adding: “Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs.”

Trump has previously voiced anger at Russia for “bombing like crazy” in Ukraine.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron said the strike on Sumy showed Russia’s “blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack, which Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni described as a “cowardly” act by Russia.

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz described it as “a serious war crime, deliberate and intended.”

Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine in recent weeks.

Sumy has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back many of Ukraine’s troops from its Kursk region inside Russia, across the border.

Kyiv has warned for weeks that Moscow could mount an offensive on the city.

Russia launched its invasion partially through the Sumy region and briefly occupied parts of it before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces.

On Sunday, Russia said it captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. (The Moscow Times)