“Russian attack was a mistake, I think”

Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Trump: “Russian attack a mistake”

Joachim Kerpner

Updated 11.03 | Published 08.53

34 Ukrainian civilians died and 117 were injured.

Now Donald Trump is commenting on the Russian missile attack on Sumy.

– They made a mistake, he says.

Donald Trump said on Monday that the Russian army's missile attack on Sumy, Ukraine, on Palm Sunday was “terrible”, but then added that it was a “mistake”:

– I think it was terrible, and I've been told it was a mistake. But it's a terrible event.

You've been told it was a mistake. Are you saying it was accidental?

– They made a mistake. I think it was… But you have to ask them, Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One early Monday, according to Forbes Breaking News.

Earlier, the US president’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, had said that the attack “crossed all lines.”

A number of EU leaders also condemned the attack. Future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the incident “a deliberate and calculated war crime” and continued:

– There were two waves of attacks, the second one hit the city when aid workers were caring for victims. That’s the answer, that’s how Putin treats those who talk to him about a ceasefire.

34 Ukrainians died – including two children – and 117 were injured when the Russian army sent ballistic missiles towards the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, according to the BBC.

After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a tough response against Russia:

“What is needed is that Russia be treated in a way that terrorists deserve,” he wrote on X.

He also invited Donald Trump to Ukraine, and urged the American president to form his own opinion on the situation in the country before continuing peace talks with Russia:

“Please, before you make any decisions, before you negotiate, come and meet our people, our civilians, our fighters, see our hospitals and churches, meet our wounded and dead children,” Zelensky said in an interview with the American CBS.

After the Russian attack, the military leadership of the Ukrainian Sumy region was criticized because an awards ceremony for military personnel was allegedly held in Sumy on the same day that the missiles fell on the city.

The military personnel were in a shelter and were not injured, only civilians were hit by the missile attack.

The mayor of the neighboring city of Konotop claims that the Ukrainian the military commander “helped Russia justify its terrorist attack,” according to the Kyiv Independent.
Destroyed buildings in Sumy. 

Destroyed buildings in Sumy. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP

 

34 ukrainare dog – varav två barn – och 117 skadades när ryska armén skickade ballistiska robotar mot staden Sumy i nordöstra Ukraina på söndagen, enligt BBC.

Efter attacken krävde den ukrainske presidenten Volodymyr Zelenskyj ett hårt svar mot Ryssland:

– Det som behövs är att Ryssland behandlas på ett sätt som terrorister förtjänar”, skrev han på X.

Han bjöd också in Donald Trump till Ukraina, och uppmanade den amerikanske presidenten att bilda sig en egen uppfattning om situationen i landet innan han fortsätter fredssamtalen med Ryssland:

– Snälla, innan ni fattar några beslut, innan ni förhandlar, kom och träffa vårt folk, våra civila, våra krigare, se våra sjukhus och kyrkor, möt våra skadade och döda barn, sade Zelenskyj i en intervju med amerikanska CBS.

Efter den ryska attacken kritiserades den ukrainska Sumy-regionens militära ledning eftersom en prisceremoni för militärer ska ha hållits i Sumy samma dag som robotarna föll över staden.

Militärerna vistades i ett skyddsrum och skadades inte, bara civila drabbades av robotattacken.

Borgmästaren i grannstaden Konotop hävdar att den ukrainske militärbefälhavaren ”hjälpte Ryssland att rättfärdiga sin terrorattack”, enligt Kyiv Independent.