JAKARTA - Two Russian ballistic missiles hit the heart of the northern city of Sumy, northern Ukraine on Sunday, killing 34 people and injuring 117 people in the deadliest attack in Ukraine this year, officials said.
Bodies strewn on the ground in the middle of the city street near the destroyed bus and the burning cars in a video uploaded by President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media.
"Only thugs can act like this, taking the lives of ordinary people," he said, noting the attack occurred on Palm Sunday when several people went to church.
President Zelensky demanded a strong international response to Moscow for the attack, which coincided with US President Donald Trump's insistence to end the war that was struggling to make a breakthrough.
"You know, the people who fight us always say they are Orthodox (Kristen), they believe in God, but we have experienced terrorism directly today. I can't say anything," said 27-year-old PhD student Yevhen, a local resident who declined to give his last name.
Acting Mayor of Sumy, Artem Kobzar, announced three days of mourning for the victims starting Monday.
"People trapped in Sunday's attack were on the road or in cars, public transportation, and buildings when the missile hit," said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
"The deliberate destruction of civilians on important church holidays," he wrote.
Meanwhile, Presidential Chief of Staff Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, said the missile contained away ammunition.
"Russia is doing this to kill as many civilians as possible," he said.
Separately, Maryana Bezuhla, a vocal member of the Ukrainian Parliament known for her sharp public criticism of military commanders in a post on Telegram, suspected the attack occurred because of information about a leaked army meeting.
Reuters was unable to verify the information, and Bezuhla did not upload evidence. However, local resident Pavriz Manakhov said he did not see soldiers in the area.
"We live in the city center, there is no military base, no soldiers here," said Manakhov.
A separate Russian drone strike injured five people in the city of the Black Sea port, Odesa, late Sunday and damaged a medical facility, local officials said.
Sunday's attack follows a missile strike in the city of Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, President Zelensky's hometown and far from the front lines of land warfare in the east and south, this month which killed 20 people, including nine children.
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Separately, British, German and Italian leaders condemned the attack.
"These attacks show how valuable Russia's readiness is to peace," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on social media.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement expressed his condolences to the victims and said the attack was "a tragic recall of why President Trump and his administration spent so much time and efforts trying to end this war."
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