Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine have killed at least four civilians, a day after one of the deadliest attacks in recent months left more than 30 people dead in Sumy in the northeast and drew condemnation.
Local officials in the Kharkiv region reported that artillery and rocket fire on Monday hit the town of Kupiansk, a strategic rail junction once held by Russian forces and retaken by Ukraine in 2022. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, also came under renewed drone attack overnight, underscoring Moscow’s concerted efforts to gain ground in the northeast.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a 68-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were killed in Monday’s shelling while a rocket strike claimed the lives of a 77-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man.
The attacks follow Sunday’s twin missile strike on the centre of Sumy, where Christian civilians had gathered to mark Palm Sunday.
Ukrainian officials said at least 34 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the blast. Among the dead were two children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a deliberate targeting of civilians. He urged United States President Donald Trump in an interview on the CBS TV network’s 60 Minutes news programme to “please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead”.
Despite the heavy civilian toll, Trump, who has previously faced criticism for his perceived leniency towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin, called the Sumy attack a “mistake” and a “horrible thing”.
The Kremlin said it struck a military target, saying two Iskander-M tactical missiles hit a meeting of Ukrainian officers in Sumy and blamed Kyiv for using civilians as “human shields” without providing any evidence.
Russia accused Ukraine of endangering civilians by carrying out military operations in urban areas.
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