Recovery workers on the site of a Russian missile strike on Sumy in northern Ukraine, April 14, 2025

Monday’s Coverage: Russia’s Palm Sunday Killing of 34+ Civilians in Sumy

UPDATE 1604 GMT:

The Trump Administration has refused to support a G7 statement condemning Russia’s deadly missile strikes on Sumy city on Palm Sunday.

“Diplomatic sources” said the Administration told allies that it could not sign the statement as “it is working to preserve the space to negotiate peace”.

UPDATE 1548 GMT:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have discussed the country’s “acute” need for air defense systems and missiles, and have considered the proposal for a UK-French-led “reassurance force” prepared “fast enough” to help Ukraine.

Rutte condemned the “totally outrageous” Russian attack on Sumy on Palm Sunday, killing 35 civilians and injuring 119, as “part of a terrible pattern of Russia attacking civilian targets and infrastructure”. He assured:

Ukraine’s people deserve real peace – real safety and security in their country. In their homes….

I also know that some have called NATO’s support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt. Our support is unwavering.

The two men visited a hospital treating injured troops.

UPDATE 1026 GMT:

At least six civilians have been killed and at least 17 injured, including a child, by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Four people were slain in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one in the neighboring Donetsk region, and one in the Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Casualties were also reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Kherson regions.

UPDATE 1018 GMT:

The Zelensky Government has approved the dismissal of two governors: Volodymyr Artiukh in the Sumy region in the northeast and Artem Lysohor in Luhansk in the east.

Artiukh’s dismissal comes amid accusations that he planned a military awards ceremony in Sumy city on Palm Sunday, when Russia’s missile strikes killed 35 civilians.

Artiukh confirmed the plans for the event but denied responsibility for initiating them.

The Government did not immediately comment on the reasons for the dismissals.

UPDATE 0703 GMT:

Some aides are advising Donald Trump not to trust the Kremlin’s statements and to toughen his position on Russia’s 37 1/2-month invasion of Ukriane, according to “White House sources”.

The group includes Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They argue Vladimir Putin has not yet shown a sincere interest in ending the invasion.

But Trump is still listening more to his envoy to Russia, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, who has met with Putin three times over the past two months and proclaims the Russian’s sincerity and devoted friendship for Trump.

Witkoff argues that Russia should be allowed to “annex” four Ukrainian regions — even though Moscow does not control parts of three of them — as well as the Crimea peninsula. He also proclaims new relations between Washington and Moscow through “compelling commercial opportunities”.

Trump has called on Russian authorities to be more active in seeking a ceasefire and has expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing bombing of Ukraine by Moscow.

However, on Monday he blamed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and former US President Joe Biden for starting Russia’s invasion.

Trump dismissed Zelensky’s offer to buy 10 US Patriot anti-missile systems for $15 billion. “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles,” he snapped.

In an appearance on Fox TV, Witkoff gave a rambling justification for accepting Russia’s takeover of part of Ukraine and denying any security guarantees to Kyiv, while again promoting “commercial opportunities” for the US and Moscow:

Putin’s request is to have permanent peace. So, in addition to the ceasefire, we have an answer to that question.

The peace agreement is about these so-called five territories, but there is much more to it. There are security protocols, there’s no NATO, NATO Article 5, I mean, it’s just a lot of detail attached to it.

It is a complex situation that is based on real issues that are happening between two countries. And I think we may be on the cusp of something that is going to be very, very important for the world. And I also think there is an opportunity to reshape the relationship between Russia and the United States with very attractive commercial opportunities that I think will bring real stability to the region. Partnership creates stability.

UPDATE 0657 GMT:

One civilian was killed and four injured by Russian attacks on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukriane on Monday.

The fatality was in the logistics hub of Pokrovsk, near the frontline.

Eight people were injured by 37 Russian shellings across the Kherson region in the south.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Residents have mourned the victims of Russia’s Palm Sunday missile strikes on Sumy in northern Ukraine.

Gatherings on Monday remembered the 35 civilians, including boys aged 11 and 17, slain by two Iskander-M ballistic missiles that landed in the city center. Many of the murdered, such as those on a destroyed trolley bus, were going to Palm Sunday services.

Another 119 people were injured. Almost 70 were hospitalized, including eight in serious condition, as of Monday.

“It was chaos. There were mountains of corpses,” said a combat medic who tried to save lives. “My shoes were covered in blood. I haven’t cleaned them yet, it’s the blood of the wounded.”

“We used to walk here all the time,” said Igor Koloshchuk, standing by the makeshift memorial with his wife Tetyana.

Tetyana said, “We came to pay our respects,” speaking of feelings of “shock, incomprehension, and probably hatred”.

The Kremlin tried to cover up its murders by proclaiming that it targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, not civilians, and that Kyiv was using human shields by holding military meetings in dense city centers.

It gave no evidence for the claims.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky summarized in his nightly video address to the nation:

When the war ends, the world will clearly know: it happened because Russia, the aggressor, was forced into peace. The same aggressor that came to Ukrainian land in 2014 – 11 years ago. And it’s important for everyone that this doesn’t take more years.