Russia's attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, which killed at least 34 people during Palm Sunday celebrations, was a "mistake," according to President Trump. Asked for his reaction aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told reporters, "I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing." Asked if he meant the attack was unintentional, Trump responded, "They made a mistake," per the New York Times. "I believe it was—Look, you're going to ask them. This is Biden's war. This is not my war."
Other international officials disagreed with the idea that the attack wasn't deliberate. "The facts are on the ground and in the face of everyone: Russia is killing civilians and it's killing civilians on the way to the church," said Latvia Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, per Euronews. "Russians knew what they were doing." Trump has largely avoided criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, though members of his administration condemned Sunday's attack. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "horrifying." Trump said Friday that "Russia has to get moving" on a ceasefire as "too many people are dying," per Axios, though he did not set deadlines. That was the same day US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin.
The timing of the attack, coming two days later and following a similar Russian attack that killed 19 people in Kryvyi Rih, led some "to suggest that Mr. Trump's attempts to re-engage with Russia were only emboldening the Kremlin to continue its aggression," per the Times. The use of two missiles and cluster munitions "could suggest a degree of purpose and malice, aimed at hitting first responders too as they rush in," writes CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. "I hope President Trump and the US administration see that the leader of Russia is mocking that goodwill," Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said Monday of US-led ceasefire talks, per Euronews. "And I hope the right decisions are taken." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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