London – Russian ballistic missile strikes in the city of Ukraine northeast of Sumy killed at least 31 people on Sunday morning, said emergency services, because many people there celebrated Palm Sunday.
“The enemy hit the civilian population again,” wrote Mayor Artem Kobzar in Telegram. Ukraine state emergency services said that at least 31 people – including two children – were confirmed killed, with 84 others injured. Two missiles hit the city center, said the authorities.
The Sumy City Council said the strike hit many buildings, including housing. “On this sunny day at Palm Sunday, our community experienced a terrible tragedy,” Kobzar wrote.
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Ukraine President’s Office, said that the missile uses cluster ammunition, which sprayed smaller sub-munition above the target area. “Cluster ammunition missiles are something that Russia does to kill as many civilians as possible,” Yermak wrote in Telegram. “The strike in Sumy City is a deliberate shooting of civilians.”
This photo handout was taken and released by the Sumy City Council on April 13, 2025, showing the locals standing next to the car that caught fire at the location of the missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine Northeast on April 13, 2025.
Handout/Ukraine Sumy City Council/AFP
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about the telegram that “terrible strikes” hit “ordinary city roads, ordinary life: homes, educational institutions, cars on the road.”
“And this is on the day when people go to church: Palm Sunday, God’s entry party to Jerusalem,” he added. “Only a bastard can act like this. Take the lives of ordinary people. Condolences for relatives and friends. The rescue operation is ongoing now. All the services needed are successful.”
“A difficult reaction from the world is needed,” Zelenskyy wrote. “The United States, Europe, all people in the world who want to end this war and murder. Russia wants this kind of terror and drags out this war. Without pressure on the aggressor, peace is not possible.”
“The conversation never stopped ballistic missiles and air bombs,” said Zelenskyy. “We need an attitude towards Russia who is worthy of receiving by a terrorist.”
In this photo handout was taken and released by Ukraine Emergency Services on April 13, 2025, a Ukraine rescue worked to extinguish the fire at the location of the missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine Northeast, in the middle of the Russian invasion to Ukraine.
Emergency Services Handout/Ukraine/AFP
ABC News’ Natalia Popova, Natalia Kushnir and Victoria Beauty contributed to this report.