Ukraine has struck the headquarters of a Russian brigade that Kyiv said was behind a devastating strike on civilians in Sumy, according to reports.
The 112th Guards Missile Brigade, a unit long accused of deliberately bombing civilians, was reportedly hit by drones early on Wednesday in Russia’s Ivanovo region, 500 miles from Ukraine, in an apparent revenge attack.
Footage taken by local residents showed a large UAV crashing into a building, triggering a large explosion.
Russia said it had downed seven large drones in the Ivanovo region, but did not mention the missile brigade and sought to downplay the damage.
Hours earlier, Ukraine bombarded the base of Russia’s 448th missile brigade. Footage showed a huge fire roaring at the base in Kursk late last night.
On Palm Sunday, two Russian Iskander ballistics missiles exploded in the centre of Sumy, killing at least 34 people, injuring more than 100 and sparking widespread condemnation from Kyiv and its allies.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said that the 112th and the 448th missile brigades were responsible for the “war crime” and vowed to retaliate.
Yesterday The Telegraph revealed the identities of the 112th brigade commanders accused of slaughtering Ukrainian civilians.
Vladimir Putin will discuss Ukraine and other issues when he holds talks with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Moscow.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Qatar played a very big and important role in trying to settle many different situations.
The US appears to have significantly reduced the amount of money it wants Ukraine to pay back for its support in the war with Russia.
Following a round of negotiations in Washington last week, the Trump administration reduced its estimated cost of US military assistance to Kyiv to $100 billion (£75bn) from $300 billion (£226bn), people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
Mr Trump is pushing Kyiv to sign a deal to share the profits on Ukraine’s rare minerals, as well as infrastructure, in a bid to recoup the billions given in aid and weapons to the war-torn country under the Biden administration.
Mr Zelensky has rejected the description of US aid as debt and is seeking better terms on the deal, which gives Ukraine no future security guarantees.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said the negotiations on the deal were “positive” and more meetings were expected. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, told Bloomberg News that the fractious deal could be signed “as early as this week”.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 97 drones in a heavy night of attacks.
It said it shot down 57 drones, with another 34 not reaching their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures.
It did not specify what happened to the remaining six drones.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to travel to Paris later this week.
Mr Witkoff is set to meet Emmanuel Macron, while Mr Rubio will speak with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, sources familiar with the trip told Politico.
An official said the two sides will discuss Ukraine, Iran and trade relations in the wake of Donald Trump’s worldwide tariff threats.
The French president’s meeting with Mr Witkoff will come only days after the envoy met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to try to push forward with ceasefire negotiations which has stalled in recent weeks.
Ukraine reportedly targeted another Russian brigade accused of conducting a deadly strike on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday.
The base of the 112th missile brigade, a unit accused of deliberately targeting civilians, was attacked with drones early on Wednesday, according to local witnesses.
The reports came hours after Ukraine said it had struck Russia’s 448th brigade, the other unit said to be responsible for Sunday’s attack on Sumy that killed at least 34 people, injured more than 100 and sparked outrage from Kyiv and its allies.
Footage taken by local residents showed a large aerial drone crashing into a building, triggering a large explosion.
There is no official confirmation of the strike against the 112th brigade.
See 8.27am post for more details on the ‘terror bombing’ 112th brigade.
Ukraine’s parliament voted to extend martial law until August 6, a senior lawmaker said.
An overwhelming majority of 357 deputies supported the extension, which allows the country to continue mobilising troops and suspends the election cycle. One lawmaker voted against the bill.
Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed one person and wounded three on Wednesday in an apparent so-called double-tap strike.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region, said that Russian attacks had continued as rescue workers arrived on the scene.
“This is a deliberate tactic by Russia to prevent the rescue of the victims and to harm medics, rescuers, and police officers,” Mr Prokudin said.
Moscow’s forces have been repeatedly accused of using the brutal and illegal tactic throughout the three-year war in what Kyiv says is an attempt to kill or maim trained professionals and break the morale of Ukrainians.
Kherson was captured by Russian forces when they invaded in early 2022. It was liberated months later, but the city remains under constant Russian bombardment.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv strikes missile brigade accused of Sumy massacre – The Telegraph
