Russia’s Relentless Bombing and Killing of Ukrainians Persists
Russia’s ballistic missile attack yesterday on Palm Sunday against the town of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine caught churchgoers and other townspeople by surprise, killing with one blast more than 30 and injuring 117. The obvious terror of such an assault was surpassed by Moscow’s heinous plan to follow up the first explosion with a second one at the same coordinates after crowds appeared to remove the bodies from the streets and tend to the wounded men, women and children.
European leaders stridently condemned Russia for this attack during a religious holiday, one week before Easter. President Trump by contrast abstained from reproaching the Kremlin leadership for the latest senseless murder of innocent Ukrainian civilians, the target of choice for Russia.
The attack took place just two days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss peace negotiations. It seems that no American negotiator is an equal to Russian officials who consciously and regularly deceive naïve Washington counterparts.
• “Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.
Macron also called for strong measures to “impose a ceasefire on Russia” and noted that France is working towards that goal with allies.
According to global news reports the tidal wave of denunciations was fierce.
• U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack on civilians. “President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions,” he wrote on X.
• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the attack was “heartbreaking” as citizens gathered for Palm Sunday “only to be met by Russian missiles.”
“Horrific example of Russia intensifying attacks while Ukraine has accepted an unconditional ceasefire," she added, referencing Kyiv's agreement to a full 30-day ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attack was a “grim reminder” of Russia’s role as the aggressor in the full-scale war against Ukraine.
“Strong measures are urgently needed to enforce a ceasefire,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Europe will continue to reach out to partners and maintain strong pressure on Russia until the bloodshed ends and a just and lasting peace is achieved, on Ukraine's terms and conditions.”
• European Council President and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the strike on Sumy as “horrible and cowardly.”
“I strongly condemn this unacceptable violence, which contradicts any real commitment to peace, promoted by President Trump and supported wholeheartedly by Italy, together with Europe and other international partners,” Meloni said in a statement provided by the Italian Embassy. She pledged to work with allies to “stop this barbarism.”
• The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, called the attack on churchgoers during Palm Sunday a “war crime” and said that Europe is “increasing pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine in every possible way.”
“Nothing seems to be sacred to the Russians — neither churches, nor Ukrainian children,” she added.
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb condemned Russia for “slaughtering innocent civilians in Sumy” and called for increased sanctions against Moscow. “Russia shows that it has no respect for international law or humanitarian law,” he wrote on X. “We must end this war. An unconditional ceasefire must begin at once. To make it commit seriously to negotiations, sanctions against Russia need to be further strengthened.”
• Moldova’s President Maia Sandu called for more air defense for Ukraine and added that Moldova “mourns with Ukraine.” She said that “Palm Sunday is a day of peace,” emphasizing that Russia “must be held accountable” and that “there is no justification for such evil.”
• The leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X that “Putin’s regime shows once again that it does not want peace.”
• Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the attack proves that “Russia’s goal is erasing Ukraine.” He stressed that aid to Ukraine cannot be delayed, adding that “no pressure on Russia means no peace.”
These heartening, supportive observations are in stark contrast to Trump’s insultingly blasé and baseless replies to journalists. Never an advocate for Ukraine, Trump brushed off a reporter’s questions by saying that he was told Russia “made a mistake” by attacking Sumy on a holy day.
“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think, for that war to have started, is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president. That war is a shame,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. He declined to elaborate.
President Zelenskyy has urged Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did.” In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”
Echoing comments made years ago by Golda Meier regarding compromising during Israel’s ongoing war with the Arab world, Zelenskyy explained, “You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,” he said in an interview that was filmed on last Friday, the day White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia.
One of the Trump Administration’s latest foolhardy plans to soothe the Russian bear is to partition Ukraine like Germany was at the end of World War Two, thus accepting Putin’s demand of sovereignty over the four eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This would ultimately be the first step toward the total disappearance of Ukraine as an independent country and the Ukrainian nation as a people. The long, arduous, costly and bloody war to liberate Ukraine from Russian subjugation would have to be repeated.
There is no prospect for a just peace for Ukraine against current and future Russian aggression, one that would see the country victorious and safe within its current borders, while Trump drags
Ukraine down the anti-Ukrainian rabbit hole. Hopefully a united front of European countries – old Europe and former captive nations – can keep the Russian war machine at bay at least as long as Trump is in office.
Ukraine down the anti-Ukrainian rabbit hole. Hopefully a united front of European countries – old Europe and former captive nations – can keep the Russian war machine at bay at least as long as Trump is in office.
