Ukraine is in mourning the victims of a Russian ballistic missile attack, which has killed at least 35 people, including children, and 119 injured.
According to Ukrainian officials, two ballistic missiles struck the city around 10:15am, striking an area that houses many religious buildings that many residents gather to celebrate Palm on Sunday.
“It was the heart of the city, the heart of the city, and yesterday it was a big religious holiday. There were religious buildings on both sides of the street where the fire occurred. People were about to worship.
Strilka explained how firefighters fought and the remains of burnt-out cars were scattered among the tiled bleeds of the damaged building, saying the emergency team was still cleaning up pieces of glass the day after the attack.
Many people gathered to lay flowers on makeshift memorials in honor of the deceased.
International condemnation
European leaders have condemned the attack as a war crime, and together with Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorsky, have called the “Russian Ock LOL” over Kiev’s agreement on the ceasefire proposed by the US a month ago “Russian Ock LOL.”
Finland’s Foreign Minister Erina Valton also noted that the attack on Smie occurred shortly after President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkov, visited St. Petersburg for consultations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She said this emphasizes that “not only shows that Russia is completely ignoring the peace process, but also that Russia is bringing human life to zero.”
Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky has welcomed international response to Russia’s attacks, but says that more pressure on Moscow is needed to end the war.
“Only the real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need concrete sanctions on the sector that funds Russian killing machines,” he wrote to X.
Speaking in his evening speech on Monday, the Ukrainian president said, “Promoters of the Russian state are preparing their audiences for the fact that negotiations and diplomacy are not going well.”
“They are not afraid in Moscow now, and if they don’t have enough pressure on Russia, they will continue to do what they are used to – they will continue to fight,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Kiev of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city centre, claiming that the missiles are targeting “Ukrainian military commanders and their Western colleagues.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense also said the attack killed more than 60 troops, but did not provide evidence to support the claim.
