Russia ‘crossed line of decency’ in Palm Sunday attack that killed 34

Russia crossed a “line of decency” in a cluster bomb attack on civilians gathering for church services on Palm Sunday, Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine has said.

Moscow’s ballistic missiles struck the centre of Sumy, a Ukrainian city near the border on one of the busiest church-going days of the year.

The attacks left bodies littering the streets and scenes of devastation reminiscent of the early days of the war.

Keith Kellogg, the Ukraine-Russia envoy for the US and a former general, described the attack as “wrong”.

He said: “Today’s Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy 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.”

The attack killed 34 Ukrainian civilians and injured 99, he cited authorities as saying.

He added that the use of cluster munitions increased “the devastation and harm to civilians”.

The attack came as peace talks stalled with the White House showing signs of frustration with Vladimir Putin who has rejected a truce.

One of the missiles hit a trolley bus full of passengers, while footage showed plumes of smoke, burning cars and scattered corpses. At least two children were among those dead and 10 others were wounded.

Local media reported that Olena Kohut, a pianist and organist of the Sumy Regional Philharmonic, was one of those killed in the attack.

One resident said: “I managed to turn away just before the impact. Everything blew in: glass from the windows, doors. It was a very strong explosion.”

It is the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week, following a deadly missile strike on Volodymyr Zelensky’s home town of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 that killed 20 people, including nine children.

The Ukrainian president described the attack as “horrific” and said the missile hit “an ordinary city street, ordinary life”.

International leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, have condemned the bloody attacks.

Sir Keir said: “I’m appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians in Sumy,” adding that Putin “must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions”.

Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the military administration in the region, said “a lot of people” were on the street at the time of the attack.

“The enemy was hoping to inflict the greatest damage on people in the city of Sumy,” he said.

Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said: “The Russians are doing this to kill as many civilians as possible.”

The Ukrainian president urged that “the world must respond firmly” and reiterated claims that Moscow is “dragging this war out”.

“The United States, Europe, everyone in the world who wants this war and these killings to end,” he said.

“Without pressure on the aggressor, peace is impossible. Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs. We need to treat Russia as a terrorist deserves.”

The attack follows comments made by Mr Trump on Saturday. He said: “I think Ukraine-Russia might be going OK, and you’re going to be finding out pretty soon. You know, there’s a point at which you have to put up or shut up.”

On Friday, Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s special envoy, met Putin in St Petersburg for peace talks.

Washington is attempting to orchestrate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

But while Kyiv agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire a month ago, Moscow has so far delayed and increased its bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Friday’s talks lasted more than four hours and were described by Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev as “productive”.

Russian authorities have not commented on the attack.