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A Russian ballistic missile strike killed dozens of people in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on the morning of Palm Sunday, Sumy Mayor Artem Kobzar reported on April 13.
At the time of publication, 34 people were killed in the attack, including two children, and at least 117 were injured, including 15 children, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported.
Ukraine’s Air Force warned of a ballistic missile threat in Sumy Oblast at 10:17 am. By 10:52 am, Kobzar announced that the city had been hit with “many dead” as a result of a missile strike.
"Enemy missiles hit an ordinary city street, ordinary life: houses, educational institutions, cars on the street... And this is on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel after the attack.
"Without pressure on the aggressor, peace is impossible. Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and air bombs. We need the kind of attitude towards Russia that a terrorist deserves," he added.
Videos circulating on social media after the attack show bodies strewn across the street, and several vehicles, including a bus, having suffered heavy damage from the attack, with one car engulfed in flames.
Palm Sunday is celebrated by Christians on the Sunday before Easter. Many people in Ukraine attend church on the holiday.
The attack comes as Washington attempts to orchestrate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire a month ago, but Moscow has so far refused and has continued to launch attacks on Ukraine's civilian centers.
The day before the attack, President Donald Trump said that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were "going fine," but emphasized that a resolution must come soon.
"There’s a point at which you have to either put up or shut up. We’ll see what happens, but I think it’s going fine," he told reporters.
Moscow launched its spring offensive targeting Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, located in northeastern Ukraine on the border with Russia, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on April 9.
"Today, more than 67,000 Russian soldiers are located in the Kursk direction. (Russia) completed the relocation for an attack in the Sumy direction," Zelensky said on April 9.
Daria Shulzhenko
