{"id":133674,"date":"2025-04-14T14:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-putin-mocking-trump-as-moscow-offers-explanation-for-missile-strike-that-killed-34-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T14:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:00:13","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-putin-mocking-trump-as-moscow-offers-explanation-for-missile-strike-that-killed-34-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-putin-mocking-trump-as-moscow-offers-explanation-for-missile-strike-that-killed-34-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Putin 'mocking' Trump – as Moscow offers explanation for missile strike that killed 34 – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia’s defence ministry says it targeted a meeting of Ukrainian military commanders in its deadly attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy yesterday. Donald Trump has condemned the strike, while Poland says Vladimir Putin is “mocking” Trump’s goodwill by continuing to attack Ukraine.
Monday 14 April 2025 14:52, UK
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Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke<\/a> is back on Wednesday for his regular Q&A on the Ukraine war.
Submit your questions in the box at the top of the page. 
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given an update on those injured in Russian missile attacks on the city of Sumy yesterday.
The Ukrainian president says 38 people are still receiving medical treatment, including nine children.
Eleven people, including three children, are in a critical condition, the leader says in a lengthy statement on X.
Zelenskyy says 34 people died, while 119 were injured.
In addition to the Russian attack on Odesa overnight, mentioned in our previous post below, Zelenskyy says Moscow also struck Slovyansk, Uman, Kharkiv, Beryslav and other cities and villages. 
“All the damaged sites are civilian: apartment buildings, stores, a car service station,” Zelenskyy says.
He adds: “Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. 
“Tangible sanctions are needed against the sectors that finance Russia’s killing machine. 
“The ones who brought the war must be stopped and held accountable for what they have done; that is only fair.”
Nine people were injured in Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa overnight.
Exploding drones were part of the arsenal.
Regional head Oleh Kiper said a medical facility was among the buildings damaged.
As we’ve been reporting, the main attack by Moscow’s forces yesterday was in Sumy, where 34 people were killed on Palm Sunday. 
We’ve got some further details from the Russian defence ministry’s statement on the Sumy attack.
It claims that the attack targeted a meeting of the command staff of the “Siversk” operational-tactical group.
Despite Ukraine reporting the number of people killed in the attack to be 34, Russia’s defence ministry said it killed “more than 60” Ukrainian armed forces servicemen instead. 
It also accused Ukraine of using civilians as “human shields” by “holding events with the participation of military personnel” in the middle of densely populated cities.
Ukrainians living in New York gathered for an emergency rally in Times Square yesterday after Russia’s attack on Sumy.
People held signs telling people to: “Google Sumy today”.
Another displayed a fake mugshot of Vladimir Putin holding up a card that identified him as a war criminal. 
Russia’s defence ministry says it targeted a meeting of Ukrainian military commanders with its attack on Sumy yesterday.
It confirmed that Russian forces used two Iksander missiles to attack the city, with Ukrainian officials reporting 34 people were killed.
Yesterday, outgoing US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said Russia used cluster munitions during the attack.
The banned explosive weapon scatters submunitions (or “bomblets”) over a wider area upon impact, ensuring maximum destruction.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, security and defence analyst Michael Clarke<\/a> disputed the idea Russia was targeting a meeting of Ukrainian military personnel, saying it didn’t appear to match their method of attack.
“It doesn’t square with cluster munitions because they’re meant to be used on the surface to kill as many people as possible,” he said.
“The use of cluster bombs inside the warheads would be completely illegal in any case. And it’s pretty clear from what we can see from the damage, what’s been said that in Sumy itself, there were cluster bombs.”
We’ve just had some lines from the Kremlin on yesterday’s missile strike in Sumy.
When asked about the attack, which killed 34 people, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia only strikes military or military-related targets.
He said other questions about the attack should be directed at the Russian defence ministry.
On US-Russia talksbetween US envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putinlast Friday, Peskov said the issues discussed were “extremely complex” and “very useful and effective”.
He said the pair had not substantively discussed a possible meeting between Putin and Donald Trump.
Lithuania’s foreign ministry says it has summoned a representative of the Russian embassy in Vilnius to answer for yesterday’s missile strike on Sumy.
“Those behind this attack will not escape justice,” the ministry said in a post on X.
“Responsibility is also shared by everyone working for Kremlin’s criminal regime, including Russian diplomats.”
Russia will escalate its war in Ukraine and trigger a global conflict if not stopped soon, Volodymyr Zekenskyy has warned.
Ukraine’s president was speaking to US outlet CBS prior to Russia’s devastating attack on Sumy, which killed 34 people yesterday.
“If we do not stand firm, he will advance further,” Zelenskyy said. 
“It is not just idle speculation; the threat is real. Putin’s ultimate goal is to revive the Russian empire and reclaim territories currently under NATO protection. Considering all of this, I believe it could escalate into a world war.” 
He added: “There won’t be a safe place, there won’t be a safe place for (anyone).”
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, has sought to keep diplomatic channels open with Russia, claiming last month that Putin “wants peace.”
When asked about the Russian president’s territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Witkoff responded: “I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe.”
Donald Trump has described Russia’s attack on Sumy as “terrible” but stopped short of calling out Vladimir Putin directly for the strike that killed 34 people in northeastern Ukraine yesterday.
The Trump administration has undertaken a sharp reversal of former president Joe Biden’s policy to isolate Russia, bringing Moscow to the table for peace talks and reopening cooperation between its embassies.
But, as Poland’s foreign minister said earlier this morning, Putin appears to be “mocking” Trump’s goodwill with Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine (see 9.07am post).
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke<\/a> says there might now come a point where the US president is forced to be tougher on Russia.
“There was a sense that Easter was going to be a time when he wanted some sort of deal, that he wanted to be a peacemaker,” he tells presenter Gareth Barlow<\/a>. “That’s obviously not going to happen now.
“There will come a point at which either he might reverse his policy, and start to be really tough on the Russians and give Ukraine a lot more military help. 
“That would be a very important signal, but that would be such a big switch from his approach so far.”
Clarke adds that it’s more likely Trump will “kick it into the long grass politically” and the war “will just carry on”.
Remember, you can submit a question at the top of this page for <\/b>Professor Clarke <\/b>to answer on Wednesday in his weekly Ukraine Q&A.<\/b>
As we mentioned this morning, Donald Trump offered his reaction to yesterday’s Russian attack on Sumy while onboard Air Force One last night.
The US president called the strikes “terrible” and said Russia “made a mistake”, without elaborating.
Watch those comments here:
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