Questioning Peace: Russian Missile Strike In Ukraine Sparks Doubts About Ceasefire

Russian missile strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least 34 people and wounded 117 in an attack that prompted questions over the seriousness of peace negotiations, the Associated Press reported.

On Sunday, two ballistic missiles hit Sumy’s city center as residents gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday. The strike damaged more than 20 buildings, including a university, shops, and apartment buildings. Ukraine’s emergency services confirmed that two children were among the dead and 15 among the injured.

The second missile exploded mid-air, spreading cluster munitions over a wide area in a deliberate attempt to inflict mass civilian casualties, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as an act of terrorism and called for stronger international action. He warned that Russia’s use of such tactics proves it is not serious about ongoing US-backed peace talks.

However, the Kremlin denied targeting civilians, claiming the missiles were aimed at Ukrainian military officers. Russian officials also accused Kyiv of using civilians as human shields while adding that Moscow only strikes “military and near-military targets,” CNN noted.

Even so, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and European leaders condemned the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of prolonging the war and called for “strong measures” to impose a ceasefire. The Trump administration’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the attack “crossed any line of decency.”

The strike came just two days after the US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the three-year conflict in Ukraine.

Despite that meeting, Ukrainian and Russian officials accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered pause in strikes on energy infrastructure agreed only last month.

Ukrainian diplomats said Russia had launched nearly 70 missiles and thousands of bombs since the agreement. In return, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Kyiv of “attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions.”

While Ukraine has accepted a broader US-backed ceasefire proposal, Russia has blocked progress with strict preconditions, including demands for an end to Western military aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have expressed concern over a potential new Russian spring offensive, warning that Moscow is using increased violence to pressure Ukraine into concessions.

They added that Russia is preparing more attacks on the Sumy region, where it has pushed across the border from Russia’s Kursk region.