European officials condemned Russia's attack on Sumy on Monday, which killed and wounded dozens of people, accusing Moscow of war crimes and disregarding Washington's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said two ballistic missiles struck the heart of Sumy, a city about 30 kilometers from Ukraine's border with Russia, on Sunday morning as people gathered to celebrate the Palm Sunday holiday, killing at least 34 and wounding 117. It was the second large-scale attack on civilians in a week.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Union, said the attacks were a "mockery of Russia" of Kiev's agreement to a ceasefire proposed by the US administration a little over a month ago.
Sikorski told reporters today in Luxembourg, where a meeting of EU foreign ministers is taking place, that he hopes US President Donald Trump and the US administration will see how the Russian leader is mocking their goodwill, and that he hopes the right decisions will be made.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the attack on Sumy came shortly after Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. It shows that Russia "is ignoring the reconciliation process, but also that Russia has no regard for human life."
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestius Budris said that the Russian attack used cluster bombs against civilians, which is "a war crime by definition."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack showed that Putin had no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire. "This means that Putin must be forced to do so, which is why I call on the European Union to take the strongest sanctions against Russia to destroy its economy and prevent it from fueling the war effort," he said.
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The European Union has imposed 16 packages of sanctions on Russia and is working on a 17th package, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to agree on these measures because they also affect the economies of European countries.
Future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the attack as a "serious war crime."
Merck said that three days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow, Russia attacked a children's hospital in Kiev. "Obviously he (Putin) does not interpret our readiness to talk to him as a serious offer to facilitate peace, but as weakness," he said.
Merz confirmed that he stands by his decision to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, which outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to do. He stressed that the Ukrainian military must be ready to "prevent the situation" and that any delivery of long-range missiles must be agreed with European partners.
According to Ukrainian data, two children were killed and 15 were injured in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media that only "dirty scum could behave like this - taking the lives of ordinary citizens," adding that the first strike hit university buildings, while the second was above street level.
The Ukrainian president's office said cluster bombs were used to kill as many people as possible. The AP could not confirm this claim.
The attack on Sumy was preceded by an April 4 attack on Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih in which about 20 people, including nine children, were killed.
Zelensky called for a global response to the attack and said that talks have never stopped missiles and bombs, and that Russia should be treated as terrorists deserve.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that he was trying to stop the war. "I think it's terrible, I've been told that a mistake was made, but I think it's a terrible thing," Trump said.
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