Ukraine’s allies condemned Russia for a rocket attack in sums

A Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of sums, which killed 34 people – including two children – and injured 117 others – was strongly condemned by the Western allies of Kiev.

Two ballistic missiles hit the city center in the middle of Sunday, erupting near the State University and the Congress Center, leaving bloody bodies scattered through the streets.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the “horrifying” attack, while German -waiting Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused Russia of committing a war crime.

There was no immediate formal comment on the attack from Russia, whose forces across the near border are said to be preparing for a great offensive.

The attack comes as the US, the strongest military ally of Ukraine, is pursuing the end of the war – now in its fourth year – through negotiations with President Donald Trump.

Ukraine leader Volodimir Zelenski called on Trump himself to visit Ukraine and see the devastation brought from the invasion of Russia.

“Please, before all kinds of decisions, all kinds of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children, destroyed or dead,” he said in an interview with the CBS program on Sunday.

By offering his condolences to the victims’ relatives, Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said the attack was a “tragic reminder” why the Trump administration was invested for so much time and effort to try to end this war. “

Earlier, Trump’s special envoy in Ukraine, retired lieutenant Keith Kell, used a stronger language, saying that the attack had passed “every line of decency”.

Mertz, who is expected to take over as a new chancellor of Germany next month, told the German public operator ARD that the attack on sums is a “serious military crime”.

“It was a perfect action .. And it’s a serious war crime, deliberate and intended,” said the conservative politician.

Meanwhile, the outgoing chancellor Olaf Skolz of Germany said the attack shows “exactly what Russia suggested that they read about peace (worth).”

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia of “grossly neglecting human life, international law and diplomatic efforts of President Trump.”

“Strong measures are needed to impose the cessation of Russia’s fire,” he said. “France works tirelessly for this purpose, along with its partners.”

Describing the attack as “barbaric”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added: “Russia was and remains the aggressor, in a gross violation of international law.

“Urgently, strong measures are needed to apply fire. Europe will continue to reach partners and maintain strong pressure on Russia, until the bloodshed is completed and a fair and lasting peace is achieved under Ukraine’s conditions.”

British Prime Minister Sir Cayer Starmer also gave an opinion, saying he “is terrified of Russia’s terrifying attacks against civilians in sums.”

UN Secretary -General Antonio Guterres spokesman said he was “deeply alarmed and shocked” to learn about the rocket attack.

“Attacks against civilians and civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law and that any such attacks wherever they appear must be completed immediately,” he added.

Guterres emphasized the UN support for “meaningful efforts to a fair, lasting and comprehensive peace that fully maintains the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The double rocket strike on Sunday was the most death attack on civilians in Ukraine this year.

Another Russian rocket attack, earlier this month on April 4, killed 20 people and wounds 61 in the town of Krivi Rich.

On this occasion, the Russian Defense Ministry said it was aimed at a meeting of “department commanders and Western instructors” at a restaurant. No evidence has been provided.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people – the vast majority of them soldiers – were killed or injured by all countries since Russia began a full -scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

UN appreciates this Almost seven million Ukrainians currently live like refugeesS

The conflict has returned more than a decade until 2014, when the pro -Russian president of Ukraine was overthrown. Then Russia annexed the Crimean Black Sea Peninsula and supported the rebels in bloody battles in Eastern Ukraine.