At least 32 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy, the interior minister has said. Follow the latest on the Ukraine war.
Sunday 13 April 2025 16:42, UK
A peacekeeping force in Ukraine remains out of the question as it goes against Russia’s so-called “root causes” of the conflict, which Moscow began despite repeatedly denying plans to invade.
Latest analysis by the Institute for the Study of War highlights a statement given by the ambassador-at-large for Russia’s foreign ministry.
Yesterday, Rodion Miroshnik repeated the Kremlin’s objection to the presence of peacekeepers in Ukraine, insisting any contingent or European involvement would maintain the “toxicity” that led to the war in the first place.
“Miroshnik’s accusation of ‘toxicity’ in Ukraine is an indirect reference to the Kremlin’s continued demands that any conclusion to the war in Ukraine must address Russia’s so-called ‘root causes’ of the war,” the ISW said.
Russia has previously defined those “root causes” as:
“Russian officials frequently directly invoke these ‘root causes’ to justify Russia’s continued war effort and pre-war demands amounting to total Ukrainian capitulation,” the ISW added.
“And Miroshnik’s 12 April statement is an indirect restatement of this concept.”
Despite movement in the diplomatic sphere, today’s attack in Sumy served as a reminder that the battlefield situation is as dire as ever in Ukraine.
Russia has not stopped strikes even as talks to end the war continue between Washington and Moscow.
At least 32 have been reported dead in a Russian attack on Sumy today – that’s despite positive messages from both sides as recently yesterday.
Let’s catch up on those latest exchanges.
Donald Trump
Last night, the US president said he thinks “Ukraine-Russia might be going OK” and “you’re going to find out soon”.
But he did also tell reporters aboard Air Force One: “There’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up, and we’ll see what happens, but I think it’s going fine.”
Keith Kellogg, his envoy for the Ukraine war, commented on the attack earlier and described it as crossing “any line of decency”, but we’re yet to hear from Trump.
Steve Witkoff
Trump’s envoy has played a key role in talks with Russia so far, and on Friday he met Vladimir Putin for the third time.
Putin was shown on state TV greeting Witkoff, and state news agencies said those talks lasted more than four hours.
“The theme of the meeting – aspects of a Ukrainian settlement,” the Kremlin said after the meeting.
Sergei Lavrov
Yesterday, Russia’s foreign minister praised Trump for what he described as a better understanding of the conflict than any other Western leader.
“When we speak about eliminating root causes of any conflict, including the Ukrainian conflict, this is the only way to resolve the problem and to establish long-lasting peace,” he said.
Russia launched another attack on Ukraine just hours later, with 55 drones reported by Kyiv overnight before the strike on Sumy.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has issued a statement on the Sumy attack today, and said “cruelty struck again”.
She issued the following statement on X…
We’ve been reporting today on the Russian ballistic missile strike on Sumy, which has killed at least 32 people.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack – one of the deadliest strikes on Ukraine this year – and called for a tough international reaction against Moscow.
And Andriy Kovalenko, a security official who runs Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, noted that the strike came after a visit to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Here is what we know:
More images are coming in now from Sumy, where at least 32 people have been killed and more than 90 injured.
US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday to discuss a US proposal to gain access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth, according to reports.
A source told Reuters that Washington’s new proposal was more expansive than the original version and would give the US privileged access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits.
It would also require Kyiv to place in a joint investment fund all income from the exploitation of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private firms.
The proposed deal, however, would not provide US security guarantees to Kyiv.
“The negotiating environment is very antagonistic,” a source told Reuters.
A treasury department spokesperson confirmed the discussions, calling them “technical in nature.”
For context: A deal on Ukraine’s critical minerals has emerged as an apparently key stepping stone towards peace since Donald Trump began his second term in the White House.
The US president has said he wants to get back some of the money his country has spent helping Ukraine after Russia invaded it in 2022.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington previously to sign a critical minerals deal, but was told to leave the White House after a row erupted in front of the world’s media.
Donald Trump’s envoy for the Ukraine war has spoken out on Russia’s attack in Sumy.
It crosses “any line of decency”, Keith Kellogg posted on social media, with “scores of civilian dead and wounded”.
“It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war,” he added, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s communications advisor responded within minutes calling for more action.
He wrote: “Don’t you think it’s time to smack the Moscow mule across the nose with a 2×4?”
The US has had talks with Russia about ending the war – with fears Ukraine will be forced to make concessions – but attacks have not abated in the meantime.
Military representatives of Turkey and foreign nations will meet in Turkey next week to discuss Black Sea security after a possible ceasefire is agreed between Ukraine and Russia, the Turkish defence ministry has said.
“A meeting will be held on 15-16 April at the naval forces headquarters regarding the security of the Black Sea following a possible ceasefire between the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.
It also said military representatives from both Turkey and foreign countries would attend the meeting but didn’t specify the countries.
For context: Donald Trump’s administration is trying to broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia to end the war.
Washington has tried to implement two limited ceasefire agreements in recent weeks – one for energy infrastructure and one in the Black Sea – but both have fallen through.
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
The prime minister said: “I am appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians in Sumy and my thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones at this tragic time.
“This latest deadly attack is a stark reminder of the continued bloodshed perpetrated by Putin.”
Starmer said Zelenskyy had “shown his commitment to peace”, adding “President Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions – as Ukraine has done”.
Vladimir Putin is going to push as hard as he can, our international correspondent Diana Magnay says.
She says the strike on Sumy today is “one of the deadliest so far this year” and comes just over a month after a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine began.
“It seems Vladimir Putin wants to keep fighting right up until the point when possibly he stops or possibly negotiations come further than they have now,” Magnay says.
“But clearly he is going to push as hard as he can until that point – maximising the pressure.”
She says the pressure from Russia “continues unabated”.
Magnay also notes that both countries were meant to have agreed to a limited ceasefire about a month ago on energy infrastructure – but both sides accuse each other of continuing attacks.
“Today’s horrific attack comes just a few days after we saw US envoy Steve Witkoff arrive in St Petersburg to meet Putin,” she adds.
Although she notes “we don’t know what the outcome of those talks were”.
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