Russian Defense Ministry confirms missile attack on Sumy that killed over 30 people, including children

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the strikes were carried out using ballistic missiles, with one impacting a university building and another “exploding right above the street.”

Ukrainian officials said that preliminary information indicates cluster munitions were used in the attack. Serhii Kryvosheienko, head of the Sumy City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram that the second of the two explosions was likely filled with munitions that “exploded mid-air to inflict maximum damage on people in the city streets.”

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) reported that 34 people were killed, including two children, and 117 others were injured. Among the wounded are 15 children. According to a report by BBC News Ukrainian, the strike also hit the Congress Center of Sumy State University, a venue that regularly hosts events and classes for children.

The local prosecutor's office later reported that 35 people were killed as a result of the strike.

Among the victims was Olena Kohut, a musician with the Sumy National Theatre’s orchestra, who succumbed to her injuries following the strike. Liudmyla Hordiienko, a deputy head of the regional state tax service, was also confirmed among the dead.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the attack:

“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, the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. According to preliminary data, we are talking about dozens of dead and wounded civilians. ”

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he was told that Russia “made a mistake”:

“I think it was terrible. And I was told that they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing.”

When asked to explain what he meant by Russia making a “mistake,” Trump replied, “I believe it was — look, you’re gonna ask them.”