Russian rocket attack on Ukraine's Sumy causing casualties, people to flee
Russian forces are intensifying their offensive in the northeastern Ukrainian region bordering Russia, with reports of civilian casualties and residents forced to flee.
The Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday that its troops took control of another settlement about 20 kilometers north of the city of Sumy.
The city's urban areas came under rocket attack on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people were killed and about 30 others wounded.
Authorities said they were evacuating residents in more than 200 settlements in the region, but that more than 35,000 people remain in high risk areas.
The authorities condemned the Russian offensive, saying consecutive days of shelling were putting an increasing number of civilians in danger.
The Russian military is aiming to expand areas under its control to create what it calls a "buffer security zone" along the border with Ukraine.
The head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said he recently met separately with US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, in the United States.
Yermak said they discussed direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, and that he made it clear "Moscow does not want a ceasefire." His call for stronger sanctions against Russia is seen as an attempt to maintain the involvement of the Trump administration.
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