'Once again, Russia has brought death' Photos of the aftermath of Moscow's deadly Palm Sunday missile strike on central Sumy
On April 13 — Palm Sunday — Russian forces launched a missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy. According to the latest reports, 35 people were killed, including two children. At least 129 others were injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops fired two missiles at the city. The first hit a university building, and the second exploded over a street. “Only scum could do something like this — taking the lives of ordinary people,” Zelensky said. Ukraine's National Police also condemned the attacked, saying, “Once again, Russia has brought death,” and calling it “a day of pain and deep mourning” for the entire country. Meduza publishes photos of the strike's aftermath.
Damaged cars next to the Ukrainian Academy of Banking in Sumy
Sofiia Gatilova / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
A bus destroyed by one of the missile explosions. Many passengers, along with the driver, Mykola Leon, were killed, according to the Ukrainian TV network 24 Kanal.
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Passengers' personal belongings still sitting in the destroyed bus
Denys Kryvopyshyn / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images
The body of one of the victims
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
The bodies of victims of the attack
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
A child’s scooter near the site of the missile strike. Two children were killed in the attack.
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Ukrainian media has published obituaries of people killed in the strike. The victims include Olena Kohut, a pianist and organist at the regional philharmonic and a teacher at the Sumy College of Arts and Culture; teacher Maryna Chudesa and her mother; medical students Svitlana Shtepa and Daria Loboda from Sumy State University; and the Martynenko family — a mother, father, and their son, a sixth-grader.
Oleh Voronenko / Suspilne Ukraine / JSC «UA:PBC» / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images
One of the missiles hit the Sumy State University congress center, where a children’s play, The Capricious Princess, was scheduled for that day
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
The Institute of Applied Physics at Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences was also damaged in the attack
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
A building in central Sumy destroyed by the missile strike
Ukraine State Emergency Service / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
According to the Sumy City Council, a total of 48 buildings were damaged, including 28 apartment blocks and 18 non-residential structures
Volodymyr Hordiienko / AP / Scanpix / LETA
The doors of the bus hit by the missile blast were jammed shut. Despite shrapnel wounds to his head, 13-year-old Kyrylo Ilyashenko managed to break a window and unlock the door so survivors could escape.
Yehor Kryvoruchko / Kordon.Media / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images
“I was in the kitchen, and then I had no idea what we going on — there was a loud crash, an explosion, and I found myself on the floor in the corner. Everything hurt. The window was blown out. Nothing was left — the balcony, doors, windows — all gone,” said Nina Semenovych, a resident of one of the damaged buildings in Sumy, in an interview with Suspilne
According to the latest reports, 119 people were injured in the strike on Sumy, including at least 15 children
Denys Kryvopyshyn / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images
April 14–16 have been declared days of mourning in Sumy for the victims of the missile strike. Other Ukrainian cities, including Lviv and Konotop, have also declared mourning days.
Roman Pilipey / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
European and American leaders — including French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg — condemned the strike and expressed condolences to the victims and their families. “My thoughts are with the Ukrainian people today,” wrote E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on X. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the strike on Sumy, said the Kremlin does not comment on the course of the war, claiming that Russian forces “only target military and military-adjacent sites”
Roman Pilipey / AFP / Scanpix / LETA