Strike on Sumy: what did Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington say?

On Sunday, April 13, the Russian army launched a missile strike on the city center of Sumy, Ukraine. As a result, 34 people were killed, including two children. 117 others, including 15 children, were injured. The city was hit by two ballistic missiles.

Before the “deadline”
Yesterday was a religious holiday for Christians (the last Sunday before Easter). The Ukrainian side emphasizes this fact. Media had reported that Trump had given Putin a deadline until the end of April, and if Russia didn’t agree to a ceasefire by then, the U.S. would impose new sanctions. Russia's strike occurred amid these rumors.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the strike showed that Russia does not take the U.S. proposal seriously. “Russia has already rejected America’s ceasefire offer twice. Unfortunately, those in Moscow still believe they have the right to kill. We need to act to change the situation,” Zelensky said.

One of the targets in Sumy was the Congress Center, which Ukraine says is typically used for children’s activities. The strike was reportedly carried out with an Iskander-M ballistic missile. Videos circulating online show the missile hitting with high speed. The explosion caused cars and buses to catch fire. Footage from the first minutes shows dozens of bodies lying in the street.

For the first time
Following the attack on Sumy, the Trump administration condemned Russia for the first time. Trump’s special representative on Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, said Russia had “crossed all lines” with this strike. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed condolences to the victims’ families.

However, Trump himself again refrained from directly criticizing Russia. “It’s horrible. I was told they made a mistake, but still—it’s horrible,” he said. When asked who made the mistake, Trump gave a vague response: “They made a mistake—ask them.” As expected, European leaders condemned Russia for the strike on civilians.

What did Russia say?
In the afternoon of April 14, Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged the strike on Ukraine’s Sumy region. As usual, they claimed the target was Ukrainian military forces and stated that 60 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. Russia also repeated its accusation that Ukraine uses civilians as “human shields.”

Controversy in Ukraine
After the strike, a scandal erupted in Ukraine. The mayor of Konotop (Sumy region), Artyom Semenikhin, released a video shortly after the incident, saying that a ceremony honoring the 117th territorial defense brigade was being held in Sumy city center that day. According to him, the event was organized by Sumy’s military administration head, Volodymyr Artyukh. Many Ukrainians later accused Semenikhin of justifying the Russian attack.

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