• By Ajeet Kumar
  • Sun, 13 Apr 2025 03:25 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Over 20 people were killed by a Russian missile strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, its acting mayor Artem Kobzar said. "The Russians hit the city of Sumy with missiles, killing civilians," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, said in a post on X. Andriy Kovalenko, a security official who runs Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, highlighted that the strike came after US envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow.

"Russia is building all this so-called diplomacy ... around strikes on civilians," he wrote on Telegram. Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in St. Petersburg about the search for a peace deal on Ukraine, as Trump told Russia to "get moving".

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently holds about 20 per cent of the country's territory in the east and south. Russian forces have been slowly advancing in the east of late, though missile and drone strikes now dominate the war. Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had carried out five attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the past day in what it called a violation of a US-brokered moratorium on such strikes. Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause strikes on each other's energy facilities last month, but both sides have repeatedly accused each other of breaking the moratorium.

Russia-Ukraine war

The strike comes less than a day after Russia and Ukraine's top diplomats accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the 3-year-old war. 

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had carried out five attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the past day in what it called a violation of a US-brokered moratorium on such strikes. Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause strikes on each other's energy facilities last month, but both sides have repeatedly accused each other of breaking the moratorium.

Zelenskyy urges leaders to respond firmly

Reacting to the attack, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attackers "filthy scum" and urged the world leaders to respond firmly.

"Only filthy scum can act like this – taking the lives of ordinary people. My condolences to the families and loved ones. A rescue operation is underway. All necessary services are working at the scene. The world must respond firmly. The United States, Europe, everyone in the world who wants this war and these killings to end. Russia wants exactly this kind of terror and is dragging this war out," said Zelenskyy.

"Without pressure on Russia, peace is impossible. Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What’s needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine and helps us defend life," he added.

(With inputs from agency)

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