Russia claims its deadly attack on Ukraine's Sumy targeted military forces as condemnation grows

BRUSSELS — Russia on Monday claimed its deadly missile attack on Ukraine's Sumy that killed and wounded scores including children had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders condemned the attack as a war crime.

Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday morning hit the heart of Sumy, a city about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia, killing at least 34 people, including two children, and wounding 119. It was the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over a week.

Asked about the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's military only strikes military targets. Russia's Defense Ministry said the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city's center.

The ministry claimed to kill over 60 troops. Russia gave no evidence to back its claims.

International condemnation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a global response to the attack, saying the first strike hit university buildings and the second exploded above street level.

''Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need tangible sanctions against those sectors that finance the Russian killing machine,'' he wrote Monday on social media.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, called the attacks ''Russia's mocking answer'' to Kyiv's agreement to a ceasefire proposed by the United States over a month ago.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen noted that the attack on Sumy came shortly after President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in Saint Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It demonstrates that ''Russia shows full disregard for the peace process, but also that Russia has zero regard for human life," Valtonen said.

''I hope that President Trump, the U.S. administration, see that the leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill, and I hope the right decisions are taken,'' Sikorski told reporters in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers met.

Lithuania's foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys, echoed Ukraine's assertion that the Russian strike used cluster munitions to target civilians, calling it ''a war crime by definition.'' The Associated Press has been unable to verify that claim.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the attack shows that Putin has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire, and called for the European Union to "take the toughest sanctions against Russia to suffocate its economy and prevent it from fueling its war effort."

The EU has imposed 16 rounds of sanctions on Russia and is working on a 17th, but the measures are getting harder to agree on because they also impact European economies.

Germany's chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, described the Sumy attack as ''a serious war crime" during an appearance on ARD television.

Merz made clear he stands by his past calls to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, something that outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to do. He said the Ukrainian military needs to be able to ''get ahead of the situation" and that any delivery of long-range missiles must be done in consultation with European partners.

Asked about Merz's statement, the Kremlin spokesman said such a move would ''inevitably lead only to further escalation of the situation around Ukraine," telling reporters that ''regrettably, European capitals aren't inclined to search for ways to launch peace talks and are inclined instead to keep provoking the continuation of the war."

Relentless attacks

Russian forces this month have dropped 2,800 air bombs on Ukraine and fired more than 1,400 strike drones and nearly 60 missiles of various types.

The attack on Sumy followed a April 4 missile strike on Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including nine children.

Trump has previously described the strike on Sumy as a ''mistake.'' On Monday, he said the mistake was allowing the war to start in the first place, criticizing former President Joe Biden, Zelenskyy and Putin.

''Biden could've stopped it and Zelenskyy could've stopped it and Putin should've never started it,'' Trump said in the Oval Office. ''Everybody's to blame.''

Late Sunday, Russian exploding drones attacked Odesa, injuring eight people. Regional head Oleh Kiper said a medical facility was among the buildings damaged.

Russia fired a total of 62 Shahed drones over Ukraine late Sunday and early Monday, Ukraine's air force said, adding that 40 were destroyed and 11 others jammed.

Chinese volunteers

Two Chinese nationals, who were captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting on the Russian side, said at a news conference in Kyiv on Monday that they had joined the war voluntarily after seeing recruitment announcements on TikTok. They said they weren't encouraged or supported by Chinese authorities, who had warned them about the danger of participating in the conflict.

One of the men, speaking through an interpreter, said he did not intend to take part directly in combat but was sent to the front lines anyway. Another said that Russian recruiters abused his trust and put him in what he described as a ''trap.''

They said they were given orders through gestures and hand signals, and Russian personnel constantly accompanied them, leaving no chance for escape. Both said they hope to be included in a future prisoner exchange and return to their families.

It was impossible for the AP to corroborate their statements or independently verify under what circumstances the two men spoke.

When he first announced the capture of the Chinese nationals last week, Zelensky said there were more than 150 other Chinese fighting for Russia. Beijing responded that it always asks its citizens to avoid participating in any military operations.

While China has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it is not believed to have knowingly provided Russia with troops, weapons or military expertise.

U.S. officials have accused Iran of providing Russia with drones, while American and South Korean officials say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to help Russia on the battlefield.

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Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Sam McNeil in Barcelona, Spain, Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine