Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has urged Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did”. In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”
Russia’s missile strike on Sunday on the Ukrainian city of Sumy showed the urgent need to impose a ceasefire on Russia, declared the French president, Emmanuel Macron. “Everyone knows it is Russia alone that wants this war. Today it is clear that Russia alone wants to continue with it, showing its scorn for human life, international law and diplomatic efforts made by President [Donald] Trump,” said Macron. “Strong measures are needed to impose a ceasefire on Russia. France is working tirelessly toward this goal, alongside its partners.”
At least 34 people were killed, writes Luke Harding, and 83 others wounded by the Russian ballistic missile strikes in Sumy on Sunday morning. Two missiles landed in the crowded city centre as people went to church for Palm Sunday. One hit a trolley bus full of passengers. Two of the dead were children.
Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, called it “a perfidious act … and it is a serious war crime, deliberate and intended”. Merz, speaking to broadcaster ARD, said: “That is the response, that is what [Vladimir] Putin does to those who talk with him of a ceasefire. Our willingness to discuss with him is interpreted not as a serious offer to make peace, but as weakness.” Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she condemned this “new horrible and cowardly Russian attack … which goes against all real engagement in favour of peace”.
The EU chief, Antonio Costa, said: “Russia continues its campaign of violence, showing once again that this war exists and endures only because Russia chooses so.” The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was ‘appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians in Sumy” and the Russian president “must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions”.
Donald Trump late on Sunday said the Russian strike on Sumy was “a horrible thing”. “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,” he told reporters on board Air Force One while headed back to Washington. Asked to clarify what he meant by a “mistake”, Trump said that “they made a mistake … you’re gonna ask them” – without specifying who or what he meant, Agence France-Presse reported.
There was condemnation from elsewhere in the Trump administration on Sunday. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said: “The United States extends our deepest condolences to the victims of today’s horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy. This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve a just and durable peace. The US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg – who has played little visible part in trying to bring about a ceasefire – said: “Today’s Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency.”
Dan Sabbagh analyses whether the civilian toll in Sumy could force the Trump administration to toughen its line in peace talks with Russia that have hardly developed in two months. Washington’s approach, under Trump, has been to try to negotiate an end to the war by talking directly with Moscow, while remaining mostly silent on Russian attacks on civilians.
Zelenskyy called on allies to put “strong pressure” on Russia or it would continue to drag out the war. “It’s been two months since Putin ignored America’s proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, they in Moscow are confident that they can afford to keep killing. We need to act to change the situation.”
Military representatives of Turkey and foreign nations will meet in Turkey on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss Black Sea security in the event of a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, the Turkish defence ministry said on Sunday. It did not specify the countries attending.
