In a video published by President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on X, seemingly lifeless, torn bodies are scattered on a street. In the background, car fires are raging. The living and the dead are being carried and dragged away.
"Russian robots hit a ordinary city street, ordinary life", writes the president and calls for a powerful response from the outside world.
The attack took place in central Sumy shortly after 10 am on Palm Sunday, a day when many Ukrainians gather to go to church.
"Only a vile scum can behave like this. To take the lives of ordinary people", Zelenskyj rages.
At least two children killed
Shortly beforehand, Sumy's mayor Artem Kobzar stated on Telegram that "the enemy has once again attacked civilians". He calls the attack "a terrible tragedy".
At that time, around 20 people had been confirmed dead. About an hour later, the death toll rose to over 30. The Ukrainian rescue service reports on Sunday afternoon that at least two children are among the victims and that 117 people, including 15 children, have been injured, according to AP.
According to Ukraine, two rockets hit the city. Zelenskyj's chief of staff Andrij Jermak claims that cluster munitions were used to kill and injure as many people as possible, writes AP, which has not been able to verify the information.
In recent weeks, Sumy, located in northeastern Ukraine about five miles from the border with Russia, has been subjected to increasingly intense Russian attacks. Before the war, the city had a population of over 250,000.
Shortly after meeting
The deadly attack occurs two days after Friday's meeting on a ceasefire between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, notes several media outlets.
"Russia builds all this so-called diplomacy and its deceit around attacks on civilians", claims Andrij Kovalenko of Ukraine's Security Council on X.
Reports of Russian attacks on civilians also come from other Ukrainian cities on Sunday. In the Kherson region in the south, for example, three people have been killed, and in the Donetsk region, one person, writes AP.
