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Sumy on Palm Sunday: missiles strike city centre
Summary
A look back at the Russian ballistic missile attack that killed at least 35 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
What happened in Sumy on 13 April 2025? On Palm Sunday, two Russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles carrying cluster munitions struck the centre of the city, killing at least 35 people and wounding 117 others, as reported at the time.
Later accounts gave a higher toll for the wounded, putting it at 129, including 15 children, and said two children were among the dead. Those accounts described the attack as the deadliest on Ukrainian civilians since 2023. It hit as residents gathered for Palm Sunday church services.
Moscow's account
The Russian Defence Ministry said the strike targeted a military gathering in the city. Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of Konotop, in Sumy region, said that regional Governor Volodymyr Artyukh had planned an awards ceremony for the 117th Territorial Defense Brigade in Sumy on the same day.
The type of munition was also a point of difference. Ukrainian officials reported ballistic missiles with cluster munitions. BBC News Russian later affirmed the use of high-explosive incendiary munitions instead.
The days before
The attack came after a difficult weekend for Ukraine's forces. On 12 April 2025, a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 was shot down by an S-400 missile during combat operations against Russian forces, and the pilot was killed.
On the diplomatic track, the U.S. president's special envoy Steve Witkoff had met Russian president Vladimir Putin on 11 April 2025. They discussed settlement options for the Russo-Ukrainian war and a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Putin.
The strike on Sumy therefore fell between those talks and the first days of the following week, with a city centre full of worshippers bearing the cost.
