More than 20 people killed in Russian missile attack on Ukrainian city of Sumy

Two ballistic missiles hit the heart of the city around 10.15 am (5.15 pm aest) when people gathered to celebrate Ramos Sunday, according to officials.

The videos published from the scene in the official channels showed bodies on the ground in the midst of debris and smoke around the Sumy center.

“In this brilliant Palm Sunday, our community has suffered a terrible tragedy,” said interim mayor Artem Kobzar in a statement on social networks.

“Unfortunately, we already know more than 20 deaths.”

At least 24 people were killed as a result of the attack, including a child, said the Ukrainian state emergency service in a statement. Another 84 people were injured, including seven children, he said.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed that rescue efforts were ongoing and said that “dozen” had been killed in the double missile attack.

“According to preliminary information, dozens of civilians were killed and wounded. Only dirty scum can act like this, leading the life of common people,” he said.

Zelenskyy also asked for a global response to the attack. “The conversations have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What is needed is an attitude towards Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said.

The strike occurred less than one day after Russia and the main diplomats of Ukraine were mutually accused of violating an tentative American negotiation agreement to stop attacks on energy infrastructure, underlining the challenges of negotiating the end of the three -year war.

The foreign ministers of the two countries spoke in separate events in the Annual Diplomacy Forum of Antalya, one day after the American envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the perspectives of peace.

“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the beginning, every day that passes, perhaps with two or three exceptions,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, added that Moscow would provide the organisms and international organizations of the United States with a list of Kiev attacks during the last three weeks.

His Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, fiercely challenged that statement, saying on Saturday that Russia had launched “almost 70 missiles, more than 2200 drones (explosives) and more than 6000 guided air bombs in Ukraine, mainly in civilians”, since they agreed the limited pause on the attacks.

The attack on Sumy on Sunday was the second large -scale attack to claim civil lives in just over a week.

A deadly missile missile strike followed Kryvyi Rih’s hometown on April 4 that killed about 20 people, including nine children.