Paris Soir - Russian strike on city centre of Ukraine's Sumy kills 32

European leaders expressed indignation at Moscow's attack on Sumy's city centre, while Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, pointing out it happened on Palm Sunday, said: "Only bastards do this."

French President Emmanuel Macron said it showed Russia's "blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President (Donald) Trump".

The strike came two days after US envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and push Trump's efforts to end the war.

Sumy lies close to the Russian border and has come under increasing attack for weeks.

The local emergency service said on social media that the latest toll was that "32 people died , including two children" and that "84 people were injured, including 10 children".

An AFP reporter saw bodies covered in silver sheets strewn in the centre of the city, with a destroyed trolleybus. Rescuers were seen working on the rubble of a building.

One woman told AFP she head two explosions.

"This second blow... A lot of people were very badly injured. A lot of corpses," she said, struggling to speak.

It was the second Russian attack with a large civilian death toll this month. Trump has voiced anger at Moscow for "bombing like crazy" in Ukraine.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched a ballistic missile on Sumy and called on the world to put pressure on Russia to end the three-year war.

He called for a "strong response" from Europe and the United States, saying: "Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs."

He added that the deadly attack occurred "on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday, the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem".

- Russia 'chooses to continue' -

Macron said the Russian attack showed what "everyone knows: this war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it."

In a statement on social media, he added: "Strong measures are needed to impose a ceasefire on Russia. France is working tirelessly toward this goal, alongside its partners."

European Council chief Antonio Costa condemned the "criminal attack", saying that "this war exists and endures only because Russia chooses so".

Local authorities in Sumy published footage of bodies strewn on the street and people running for safety, with cars on fire and wounded civilians on the ground.

Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine in recent weeks, extending the violence wrought by its all-out invasion that has gone on for more than three years.

In early April, a Russian attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rig killed 18 people, including nine children.

Russia has refused a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire and been accused by Ukraine and its European allies of dragging out the war and seeking to stall efforts for peace negotiations.

Sumy has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back many of Ukraine's troops from its Kursk region inside Russia, across the border.

The eastern Ukrainian city so far has been spared the kind of fighting seen farther south, in the Donetsk region. But Kyiv for weeks has warned that Moscow could mount an offensive on Sumy.

Russia in recent weeks has claimed the capture of a village in the Sumy region, for the first time since the early days of its 2022 invasion.

Russia launched its invasion partially through the Sumy region and briefly occupied parts of it before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces.

Moscow has not yet commented on the strike.

On Sunday, it said it captured another village in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.

G.Perrin--PS