Deny and accuse in return. This is the strategy adopted, once again, by Russia this Monday, April 14, after the deadly attack launched the day before on Soumy, in northeast of Ukraine, having killed 34 civilians, including 2 children. In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its troops had used two “Iskander” ballistic missiles to target “The places of a command meeting” of the Ukrainian army, claiming that 60 soldiers would have been killed during this bombing.
The Russian ministry also accused Ukraine of using civilians such as “Human shields”, “by placing military facilities or organizing events in which soldiers participate in the center of a densely populated city”. This accusation towards Ukraine implies that Moscow actually recognizes that this bombardment has affected civilians, even if it is not clearly formulated.
Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov repeated that the Russian army only attacked “Military or quasi-military targets” in Ukraine. Russia still denies targeting civil infrastructure in Ukraine, although tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, according to observers, since the Russian offensive in February 2022.
The Russian missiles fell on the city center of Soumy on the day of the twigs, an important date of the Christian calendar. The city then overflowed with faithful. The two machines, launched a few minutes apart and a hundred meters apart, killed at least 34 people, including 2 children, and injured 117 others, according to Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a severe international response against Moscow for this attack on a religious day. “Only bastards can do this”, dropped by the Ukrainian head of state. “”Russia wants exactly this kind of terror and extends this war. Without pressure on Russia, peace is impossible. The discussions have never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs ”, he hammered on Telegram, accusing Vladimir Putin of having “Ignore the American proposal for a total and unconditional ceasefire.”
The strike strongly made the international community react, Emmanuel Macron deploring the continuation of the war by Russia “In defiance of human lives, international law and diplomatic offers from President Trump”. The latter said shortly after: “I was told that they had made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing”.
This offensive occurred two days after the visit of an American high-responsible in Russia. The emissary Steve Witkoff, who represents the administration of Donald Trump, had met Vladimir Putin on Friday, for the third time since February. Russian spokesperson Dmitri Peskov judged on Monday that such contacts are “Extremely useful and very effective”. He praised a communication channel allowing Russian and American leaders to discuss directly on “Different elements of their positions on all kinds of questions”. However, the American president’s promise quickly ends the war seems far away.
