Russian Missile Attack Kills Dozens Of Civilians In Ukraine On Palm Sunday

Two Russian missiles struck the heart of a northeastern Ukrainian city on Palm Sunday, killing at least 34 people, authorities said.

The Russian ballistic missile strikes hit the center of Sumy “on Palm Sunday, as people were on their way to church,” according to Ukraine’s ministry of defense.

The strikes killed at least 34 people and injured 117 people — including a female infant born earlier in the year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. One of the missiles hit a university building while the other exploded over a street, he said.

Emergency personnel were at the scene within minutes, and doctors were tending to the injured, Zelenskyy stated. Sixty-eight of the injured were taken to hospital, with eight of them in critical condition, he added.

“This was no accident — it was terror,” the defense ministry said.

“Only completely deranged scum can do something like this,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation. He also shared a video of the scene, which showed bodies strewn around.

Today, many world leaders, diplomats, and ordinary people with big hearts expressed their condolences to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They condemned the Russian strike. I thank everyone who remembers that wars end when the crimes of war are not forgotten — and when the… pic.twitter.com/uFmfU6j5cU

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 13, 2025

The attacks came “one month since Russia spurned the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire,” according to Zelenskyy.

Reactions from various world leaders was swift.

“The United States extends our deepest condolences to the victims of today’s horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace.”

U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said the attack “crosses any line of decency.”

“There are scores of civilian dead and wounded. As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war,” Kellogg added.

TOPSHOT – EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This photograph shows the covered bodies of victims near a destroyed bus following a missile attack in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on April 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy killed at least 31 people and wounded 84 on Palm Sunday, Kyiv said, in another deadly attack on civilians that came after a top US official travelled to Russia. (Photo by Oleg VORONENKO / AFP) (Photo by OLEG VORONENKO/AFP via Getty Images)

“The Russian version of a ceasefire. Bloody Palm Sunday, Sumy UA,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote.

“Everyone knows: this war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” and that “President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions.” (RELATED: Putin Orders Largest Military Conscription In Years As Ukraine Peace Talks Stall)

“This morning, Russian cruelty struck again,” European Union President Ursula von der Leyen wrote, adding that the “latest escalation is a grim reminder” that “Russia was and remains the aggressor, in blatant violation of international law.”

U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC News over the phone March 30 that he was “very angry” with and “pissed off” by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention regarding talks. Putin had reportedly mooted the possibility of Zelenskyy being removed from office.

A week before the attack on Sumy, Russia struck the Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska’s native city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 14 people — including children — and injuring over 20 others, Zelenska said. A playground was hit, according to one of the pictures shared by Zelenska.

“Children should be a hope, not a target,” she added.