Russian missiles hit Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday
celebrations, killing more than 30
[April 14, 2025]
By SAMYA KULLAB
SUMY, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles struck the heart of the Ukrainian
city of Sumy as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, killing at
least 34 people, officials said, in the second large-scale attack to
claim civilian lives in just over a week.
The two ballistic missiles hit around 10:15 a.m., officials said. Images
from the scene showed lines of black body bags on the side of the road,
while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris.
Video footage also showed fire crews fighting to extinguish the shells
of burned-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings.
The dead included two children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine
said in a statement. A further 117 people were wounded, including 15
children, it said.
“Only filthy scum can act like this — taking the lives of ordinary
people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In a statement on
social media, he said the first strike hit buildings belonging to a city
university, while the second exploded above street level.
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said
cluster munitions were used to kill as many people as possible. The
Associated Press was unable to verify that claim.
The attack on Sumy followed a deadly April 4 missile strike on
Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including
nine children.
Zelenskyy called for a global response to the attack. “Talks have never
stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What’s needed is an
attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said.
Other world leaders also condemned the attack, with French President
Emmanuel Macron saying that it undermined Washington-led peace talks
between the 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 Donald Trump, he wrote in a statement.
Asking about the attack, Trump said late Sunday evening that he was
trying to get the war stopped. “I think it was terrible and I was told
they made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the
whole war is a horrible thing," he told reporters aboard Air Force One
as he returned to Washington. He did not clarify whether he was saying
the attack was unintentional.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, two women, ages 62 and 68, and a 48-year-old man
were killed in Russian attacks on the Kherson region, local Gov.
Oleksandr Prokudin said. Another person was killed during Russian
shelling on Ukraine's Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said a
Russian strike hit one of the city’s kindergartens, shattering windows
and damaging the building’s facade. No casualties were reported.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service,
firefighters put out the fire following Russia's missile attack that
killed at least 20 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13,
2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Spring offensive fears despite peace talks
The strikes come a day after Russia and Ukraine’s senior diplomats
accused each other of violating a tentative U.S.-brokered deal to
pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges
of negotiating an end to the three-year war.
The two countries’ foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the
annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff
met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace
prospects.
“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning,
every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Moscow would
provide the U.S., Turkey and international bodies with a list of
Kyiv’s attacks during the past three weeks.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, contested that claim,
saying Saturday that Russia had launched almost 70 missiles, over
2,200 exploding drones and more than 6,000 guided aerial bombs at
Ukraine, "mostly at civilians" since agreeing to the limited pause
on strikes.
Russian forces hold the advantage in Ukraine, and Kyiv has warned
that Moscow is planning a fresh spring offensive to ramp up pressure
on its foe and improve its negotiating position.
Ukraine has endorsed a broader U.S. ceasefire proposal, but Russia
has effectively blocked it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
European governments have accused Putin of dragging his feet.
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine,
said the Sumy attack crossed “any line of decency” and that the
White House remained committed to ending the conflict.
“There are scores of civilian dead and wounded. As a former military
leader, I understand targeting, and this is wrong," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the attack “horrifying”
and said it offered “a tragic reminder" of why the administration
was trying to end the war in favor of “a just and durable peace.”
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Associated Press journalists Volodymr Yuchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine and
Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England contributed to this
report.
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