A Russian missile attack on Sumy killed 34, including two children; the toll of the injured rose to 119. Ukraine ready to buy 10 U.S.-made Patriot missile systems for 15 billion dollars, Zelenskyi says. Russia will not be present at a Black Sea security meeting in Türkiye later this week.
Russian missile attack on Sumy kills 34, including two children, toll of injured rises to 119
The toll of the injured in a Russian missile strike on the city of Sumy rose to 119 people, including two children, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Emergency Service in the region, Oleh Strilka said on Monday morning. The Sunday attack killed 34 people, including two children.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko said on national television on Monday: “Thirty-four people were killed, including two children who were born in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Of the 119 wounded, around 40 remain in hospital, including 11 in serious condition.”
Russia launched two missiles into the center of Sumy with a span of 2-2.5 minutes separating the strikes, Klymenko said. Preliminary information indicates that the Iskander-M missiles used in the attack were packed with cluster munitions, he added.
“The missile travels 100 kilometers in less than 45 seconds. (…) People must take shelter very quickly,” Klymenko concluded.
The strikes hit the city center on Palm Sunday when some people were going to church. One missile hit a university building and another exploded right over a street. The strike killed the driver and most of the passengers of a trolleybus that was within the impact area.
According to initial reports, 20 buildings were damaged, including a university, five apartment buildings, cafes, shops and the district court.
Head of the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, said Russia struck Sumy with two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles. The strike was carried out by the Russian 112th Missile Brigade and 448th Missile Brigade from near Liski, in the Voronezh region, and Lezhenki, in the Kursk region, he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio extended condolences to victims of the “horrifying Russian missile attack.” “This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace,” he said on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he was told Russia “made a mistake.” “I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One late Sunday.
Ukraine ready to buy 10 U.S.-made Patriot missile systems for 15 billion dollars, Zelenskyi says
Speaking in a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS News released in its entirety on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said Ukraine was ready to buy 10 U.S.-made Patriot missile systems for 15 billion dollars.
“There are a few steps to protect Ukraine. Step number one: one system costs USD 1.5 billion, and we are ready to buy it. We need at least 10 systems to cover some cities, at least civilian people and the centers of cities where people gather. That’s USD 15 billion. We are ready to pay these USD 15 billion. We will find the money and pay for everything,” Zelenskyi said.
As a second option, he said Ukraine asked the Trump administration for licenses to produce Patriot systems and missiles for them.
“We wanted to have the licenses and pay for them, so we can then understand how long it would take us to build a comprehensive system to cover our skies,” Zelenskyi said.
“There are different options,” he continued, mentioning that there are countries that have Patriot systems that belong to the U.S., and these countries are not at war. These systems could be transferred to Ukraine, he said.
“We were even ready to lease them. If a country has a challenge to address and we need to return them very quickly, we will send them back,” Zelenskyi said.
Speaking at a news conference on April 8, days after a Russian missile strike killed 20 people in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyi said the U.S. could send more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine as it has many of them. That would be its “best support”, he added.
During a phone call with Trump in mid-March, Zelenskyi asked him for additional air defense systems, specifically Patriot missile systems, and Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe, according to the readout of the call from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Michael Waltz.
Ukraine needs 10-12 more Patriot air defense systems, Zelenskyi said when meeting with the president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García Pérez, in Kyiv in December 2024.
Russia not to be present at Black Sea security meeting in Turkey
Russia will not be present at a Black Sea security meeting in Türkiye later this week, counter to earlier media reports.
Türkiye on Tuesday and Wednesday will host a meeting to discuss Black Sea security after an eventual ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, the country’s Defense Ministry said, according to Anadolu.
The meeting at Naval Forces Headquarters in Ankara, attended by foreign countries military representatives, will discuss naval military planning to maintain a peaceful environment in the Black Sea, the ministry said in a Sunday statement.
Without specifying which countries would attend, the ministry said there will be no Russian officials among foreign military representatives.
Earlier reports from Turkish media that cited Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian and Russian officials will attend the meeting.
Following separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in March, the U.S. said the two sides had agreed to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea, though the Kremlin said a maritime ceasefire would start only if it received sanctions relief on agricultural exports.
