International-News

Moscow claims ‘Ukrainian military command hit’ in Sumy attack

Kremlin retorts to Western accusations: ‘Only military targets’. Kiev: 34 dead, including two children. Meanwhile, Ukraine prepares a ‘counter-parade’ for 9 May

After harsh condemnations from the West, comes Moscow’s official version of the missile attack that hit the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Palm Sunday, leaving at least 34 dead. The Russian Defence Ministry said it had hit with Iskander missiles a meeting of the command of the Ukrainian Seversk operational tactical group, defined as a military target.

‘Our army strikes exclusively military-related targets,’ reiterated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, also responding to comments by US President Donald Trump, who had spoken of a possible “mistake” on the Russian side.

According to Moscow, more than 60 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the raid. A version that contrasts with the tally provided by Kiev: 34 civilians dead, including two children, and 119 wounded. Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberately targeting densely populated areas, an accusation that Moscow rejects stating that Kiev ‘uses the population as human shields’.

On the diplomatic front, Moscow issued a warning to Germany: the proposal to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles, put forward by future chancellor Friedrich Merz, ‘will inevitably lead to a new escalation’, Peskov said.

Meanwhile, hostilities also continue in the Kharkiv oblast, where Russian attacks have left four civilians dead: a 68-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman in Koupiansk, and a 77-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man in the village of Chevtchenkove, as reported by the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Synehoubov.

On a symbolic and diplomatic level, Kiev announced a ‘counter-parade’ for 9 May in response to the traditional Russian celebration of victory over Nazism. The aim, explained Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha during the EU meeting in Luxembourg, is to strengthen European unity against Russian aggression.

On that date, President Volodymyr Zelensky also intends to host a summit of the ‘coalition of the willing’ to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. According to Politico, among the invited leaders would be Friedrich Merz.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin extended invitations for the parade in Moscow to the leaders of China, India, Israel, Serbia, Slovakia and Brazil. No invitations for the United States and major EU countries. The last Western participation dates back to 2005, with George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac.

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