At least 32 people were killed in what seemed to be the bloodiest strike against civilians on Sunday morning when two Russian ballistic missiles crashed into a busy city center in northeastern Ukraine, according to authorities.
The attack on the city of Sumy in the middle of the morning was the most recent in a series of escalating Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities that have caused significant civilian fatalities in defiance of the Trump administration’s calls for a cease-fire.
According to officials, when the missiles struck, the city center was packed with people taking part in Palm Sunday, a Christian holiday that is well-liked in Ukraine. Vibrant streets were transformed into scenes of carnage: As sirens and cries sounded, footage of the aftermath revealed burning automobiles, debris littering the road, and mutilated and bleeding people lying lifeless.
According to Ukraine’s emergency services, at least 99 people were injured and two children were among the fatalities.
Ihor Klymenko, the interior minister, bemoaned on social media that “people were harmed right in the middle of the street — in cars, on public transport, and in their homes.”
The attacks occurred little over a week after nine children were among the 19 people killed by a Russian missile that struck close to a playground in the central city of Kryvyi Rih. According to Ukrainian officials, Russia deployed ballistic missiles, which move quickly and are extremely challenging to shoot down, in both that strike and the one on Sunday.
Since cease-fire negotiations mediated by the United States started in March, the number of civilian deaths has generally increased. Last Monday, the United Nations reported that 164 people were murdered in Ukraine last month, a 70 percent rise over the same period last year and a 50 percent increase over February.
The attack on Sumy demonstrated that Moscow has no genuine interest in a cease-fire, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to mediate one, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has charged Russia of manipulating the cease-fire negotiations to buy time.
“The world needs to respond strongly. In a Telegram message, Mr. Zelensky stated, “From the United States, from Europe, from everyone in the world who wants this war and the killings to end.”
