Latest news with #SumyRegionalMilitaryAdministration
New York Post
17-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Nine Ukrainians killed in brutal Russian drone attack following failed cease-fire talks
Nine Ukrainian civilians fleeing heavy Russian shelling near the frontline were killed in a drone strike early Saturday, just hours after truce talks between the warring countries failed to yield a cease-fire. The victims, including a mother, father and daughter and several elderly women, were aboard a shuttle bus evacuating people from Sumy — the northeastern city under constant assault by Russian missiles, drones and glide bomb strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and regional officials accused Moscow of deliberately bombing a civilian target. 6 Nine civilians were killed on a bus in Sumy, Ukraine while trying to escape a Russian bombardment early Saturday. V_Zelenskiy_official/Telegram 'This is another war crime by Russia,' the Sumy Regional Military Administration said on Telegram. 'A deliberate strike on civilian transport that poses no threat.' The attack occurred in Bilopillia, a village in Sumy just six miles from the Russian border. The mayor, Yuri Zarko, branded the day 'Black Saturday,' declaring May 17 through 19 days of mourning, in a post on Facebook. Russian troops launched 85 shellings across multiple villages into Saturday morning, according to the local military. Homes, hotels, civil infrastructure and other buildings were also destroyed and damaged, the military said. 6 Among the victims were several elderly women and a family, officials said. AP At least five more people were also killed into Saturday by the Kremlin in various attacks across Ukraine's Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, according to local officials. The offensive came shortly after a much-hyped meeting Thursday in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv — the first direct talks between the countries since the early days of Russia's 2022 invasion — that fizzled, lasting less than two hours and failing to end in a peace deal. 6 Ukrainian officials called the Russian attack a war crime and a deliberate killing of civilians. V_Zelenskiy_official/Telegram Russian President Vladimir Putin, who first proposed meeting with Zelensky this week, later announced he wouldn't attend the talks, instead sending a delegation. The two leaders have not met since 2019. The Russian side demanded Ukraine cede four major cities as a precondition for a temporary cease-fire, a bad faith request Ukrainian officials called 'unacceptable.' 'Yesterday, as on any day of this war, there was an opportunity to cease fire,' Zelensky said Saturday in a Telegram post. 'Ukraine has been offering this for a long time — a complete and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives,' he continued. 'Russia only retains the opportunity for itself to continue killing.' 6 Ukrainian servicemen of the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade operate near Kharkiv. Yevhen Titov/SOPA Images/Shutterstock 6 A burnt car with the body of a 55-year-old driver inside following a Russian drone strike in Donetsk on May 16. AP The two sides did agree to a prisoner swap — the largest since the war began — plans to present each other with written peace proposals and continued talks. A Kremlin spokesman said the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky remains on the table. 'Such a meeting — as a result of work by the delegations of both sides — is possible upon these delegations reaching certain agreements,' Dmitry Peskov told reporters Saturday without elaborating. But the Kremlin has insisted Putin first meet with Trump. Trump announced plans to speak with the Russian strongman on Monday to discuss 'stopping the bloodbath.' 6 Zelensky, second from left, met with European leaders at the European Political Community Summit on Friday. Leon Neal/PA Images/INSTARimages 'HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. Trump said their talk will also focus on trade, and be followed by a phone call to Zelensky and 'various members of NATO.' Hours before his announcement, Trump threatened in an interview with Fox News to slap 'crushing' sanctions on Russia if an end to the war isn't reached. With Post wires
The Journal
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Nine killed in Russian attack on civilian bus in northern Ukraine
NINE PEOPLE WERE killed this morning when a Russian drone struck a civilian minibus in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, according to the local military administration. 'Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical attack by Russians on a bus with civilians, there are dead,' the administration said in a post on Telegram. A later update confirmed that the death toll had risen: 'Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to nine.' The post included a photo showing a mangled blue minibus, apparently torn apart by the blast. Four people were also wounded in the attack, officials said. Telegram / Sumy Regional Military Administration Telegram / Sumy Regional Military Administration / Sumy Regional Military Administration Earlier, the authorities had reported eight deaths. Advertisement The attack took place near the city of Bilopillya as the bus was traveling toward Sumy. The local administration said it was 'targeted by the Russians.' A day of mourning was declared in Bilopillya by local authorities following the attack. The strike occurred just hours after Russia and Ukraine concluded their first direct talks in nearly three years, held in Istanbul on Friday. However, the talks ended without a major breakthrough. Both sides agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange but did not reach a ceasefire. Instead, they committed to continuing discussions on a potential truce. After the talks, Kyiv reiterated its push for an 'unconditional ceasefire' to pause the conflict, which has devastated much of Ukraine and displaced millions. Moscow, however, has consistently rejected such demands. So far, the only concrete result from the negotiations appears to be an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners from each side. Ukraine's chief negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the 'next step' should be a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Additionally, both Moscow and Washington have emphasized the need for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump to discuss the conflict. Additional reporting by Andrew Walsh
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's refusal to condemn Putin is ‘demoralising', says Shapps
Donald Trump's refusal to blame Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine is 'completely demoralising' for democratic nations, Grant Shapps has said. The former defence secretary accused the US president of 'weasel' words over his failure to condemn the Russian ballistic missile strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, which killed at least 34 civilians and injured more than 100. Mr Trump blamed Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, and Joe Biden for starting the long-running war despite the images of lifeless bodies, including children, filmed on the streets alongside ruined buildings and burning cars on Palm Sunday. 'You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles,' Mr Trump said at the White House on Monday. He said the Russian attack was 'terrible' but added that he had been told it was a 'mistake'. Credit: Sumy Regional Military Administration In what could signal a return to politics for Mr Shapps, the former Conservative high-flyer went further than Sir Keir Starmer in his criticism of the US president. The leader of Mr Shapps' party, Kemi Badenoch, has remained entirely silent on the strike, the deadliest by Russian forces this year. 'I feel disgusted. The idea that the leader of the free world cannot tell the difference between the dictator who locks up and murders his opponents and invades innocent democratic countries and the country itself that has been invaded,' Mr Shapps told the One Decision podcast. Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, five years before Mr Zelensky became president. Putin then launched a full-scale invasion in 2022. Mr Trump went on to say: 'Biden could have stopped it and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody is to blame.' Of Mr Trump's comments, Mr Shapps added: 'This lack of moral clarity is completely demoralising for the rest of the democratic world…Yeah, I mean, it's a sort of weasel language. We used to hear it from the IRA.' Mr Shapps, who held five Cabinet positions, suggested Mr Trump's promise to end Russia's war against Ukraine was an 'appeasement' of Putin, and accused him of making a Chinese invasion of Taiwan more likely. He said: 'Surely you must understand that if you let one dictator get away with it, what do you think will happen when another dictator walks into a neighbouring state or one just over the water and takes it over?' 'The one thing I believe about Trump is he doesn't want China to walk into Taiwan… you're making the one thing you don't want far more likely,' he added. Mr Shapps' comments represent the strongest criticism of the American's approach to securing an end to the war in Ukraine. Ukraine's most ardent Western supporters have so far been unable to convince Mr Trump to deviate from his apparent strategy of taking it easy on Putin to maintain diplomatic channels in the hope of one day brokering a ceasefire, and then a peace deal. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
