Vladimir Putin was “mocking” Donald Trump’s attempt to broker peace in Ukraine with a ballistic missile strike that killed dozens of people in Sumy on Palm Sunday, EU foreign ministers said.
Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, said at a meeting of his European counterparts in Luxembourg: “I hope that President Trump, the US administration, sees that the leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill, and I hope the right decisions are taken.”
Kestutis Budrys, Lithuania’s foreign minister, told reporters: “This is once again a humiliation to everyone who puts in diplomatic efforts to stop this war and achieve at least a ceasefire for negotiations to begin.”
Latvia’s foreign minister rejected Mr Trump’s suggestion that Russia had made a “mistake” when it hit the northeastern Ukrainian city, killing 34 and injuring 100 more.
“The Russians knew what they were doing,” Baiba Braze said. “There is no way they can say this was just a mistake.”
Russia claimed that Sunday’s attack was a strike on a meeting of Ukrainian military commanders and accused Kyiv of using civilians as human shields.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of using civilians as a “human shield” after a missile strike targeting Ukrainian army commanders on Palm Sunday killed at least 34 people.
The Russian defence ministry said its army launched two ballistic Iskander-M missiles at “the place of a meeting of command staff” in Sumy, claiming that it had killed 60 Ukrainian soldiers.
The strikes hit the centre of the northeastern city on Sunday morning, triggering outrage in Kyiv and among its allies.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, told reporters: “Our army hits only military and military-related targets.”
He added: “The Kyiv regime continues to use the Ukrainian population as a human shield, placing military facilities and holding events with the participation of soldiers in the centre of a densely populated city.”
Donald Trump has defended Vladimir Putin over Russia’s deadly attack on Sumy on Palm Sunday, saying it was a “mistake”.
The US president told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday evening: “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.”
Asked to clarify what he meant by a “mistake”, Mr Trump said that “they made a mistake… you’re gonna ask them” – without specifying who or what he meant.
The Sumy strike killed 34 people and injured 100 more. Ukrainian media reported that it occurred while a number of soldiers gathered for a nearby military awards ceremony.
It is the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week, following a deadly missile strike on Volodymyr Zelensky’s home town of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 that killed 20 people, including nine children.
The attack came two days after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet Putin and push for an end to the war.
A Ukrainian military commanders’ meeting was the target of a deadly Russian strike on the city of Sumy, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian defence ministry said the attack involving two Iskander-M missiles was aimed at a Ukrainian armed forces command staff meeting in northeastern Ukraine on Palm Sunday.
Yuriy Yula, a Ukrainian colonel and the deputy commander of the 26th artillery brigade, was killed in the strike, Berdychiv city council reported.
According to Ukrainian officials, some 34 were killed and a further 100 injured in the strike. Volodymyr Zelensky said 38 people remain in hospital, including nine children.
The Russian defence ministry has claimed 60 servicemen were killed in the attack, however.
The head of the European Council has condemned Russia’s attack on the city of Sumy as “criminal”.
Antonio Costa said the strike, which killed 34 people and injured 100 more in the northeastern Ukrainian city, showed Russia was enacting a “campaign of violence”.
The EU chief wrote on X: “I’m outraged by Russia’s criminal missile attack on the city centre of Sumy.
“Russia continues its campaign of violence, showing once again that this war exists and endures only because Russia chooses so.”
He called for those responsible for the strike to be held accountable and said the European Union offered its full support to the Ukrainian people.
Ukraine is prepared to buy 10 US-made Patriot air defence systems at a cost of $15 billion (£11.34 billion), Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian president told CBS he first discussed the offer with the Biden administration before raising it again with Donald Trump in the hopes the systems could provide an initial line of defence against Russian drone and missile attacks.
Mr Zelensky said: “There is the Patriot system, and you have many of them. You also have production capacity. There are a few steps to protect Ukraine.”
He added: “That’s $15 billion. We are ready to pay it. We will find the money and pay for everything.”
The Kremlin, when asked this morning about an attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, said that Russia only strikes military or military-related targets.
Ukraine said on Sunday that two Russian ballistic missiles killed 34 people and wounded 117 in Sumy.
Hungary will not agree to any part of the European Union’s military training mission to take place inside Ukraine, as that could risk an escalation of war, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Budapest will also oppose any sanctions on Russian energy imports, Peter Szijjarto added in a press conference broadcast on his Facebook from Luxemburg after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
Russia has suffered a 138,000 casualties in its war against Ukraine this year, according to the a UK intelligence report.
The report also found that Russia had lost more than 920,000 over the course of the war so far, which started in February 2022.
“Russian forces are likely attempting to rebuild frontline momentum following a period of lower attacks on the opening months of the year,” the report stated.
Vladimir Putin will be the one to decide whether a 30-day energy ceasefire with Ukraine is extended, the Kremlin has said.
“The moratorium was essentially not observed by the Ukrainian side,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, claimed. “Therefore, of course, these 30 days will need to be analysed.”
Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of carrying out eight attacks on energy infrastructure in the last 24 hours, without providing evidence.
Both sides have accused each other of breaking the US-brokered deal.
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
