A brutal Russian missile attack pounded the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday morning, killing a minimum of 32 individuals and wounding 99, including several children. The double tap ballistic missile raid happened at approximately 10:15 a.m. local time, just as Palm Sunday services were in progress, leveling a central residential block and public transportation corridors. Minutes after the bombing, disturbing video clips appeared online of a young Ukrainian mother and her daughter injured by broken glass. The child, bleeding and crying, clung to her mother amidst the rubble. The video, widely circulated on social media and news sites, captured the mayhem and trauma on the ground, providing a raw look at the immediate consequences of the bombing.

Terrorism Against Civilians, Says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the attack as an intentional act of terror, calling for immediate international intervention. "This is not war; this is terrorism against civilians," he declared in a statement. "On Palm Sunday, when people were going to church, Russia launched missiles into their homes."

Ukrainian authorities blamed Russia for deploying cluster bombs in the attack, a weapon prohibited by international law in over 100 nations. The assault, they added, seemed intended to maximize civilian casualties by targeting the same spot twice, once to hit and then to attack responders to the initial blow. The missiles hit a heavily populated area of the city where families had gathered, said Sumy Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko. "Children, mothers, fathers, ordinary people just trying to live were the targets," he said.

The United Nations and European Union have condemned the attack, with French President Emmanuel Macron labeling it "a clear violation of international humanitarian law." Humanitarian agencies are now hurrying medical and psychological assistance to survivors. This latest escalation shows Russia's growing deployment of air attacks in border areas in Ukraine and the continuing risk to civilians even away from frontlines.

Also read:  Russia's Deadly Attack On Ukraine's Sumy Kills Over 20; President Zelenskyy Urges World To Respond 'Firmly' | Horrific Visuals