KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in an attack on the northeastern city of Sumy that killed three people and wounded at least 20.
The city has come under intense bombardment as Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to create a “buffer zone” inside the Sumy region, which borders Russia.
“The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy -- directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians,“ Zelensky said in a post on social media.
He posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road.
Local officials said Russia fired five MLRS rockets at the city around 09:00 am (0600 GMT).
Zelensky said the attack -- which comes one day after Ukraine and Russia held peace talks in Istanbul -- “says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war”.
He called for “decisive actions” from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.
“Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence,“ he said.
Sumy is around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Russian border, and was a vital logistics hub for Ukraine’s months-long offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.
Attacks on the city have escalated since Russia said in April it had fully recaptured the Kursk region.
More than 30 were killed there in a Russian ballistic missile strike on the city centre in April, one of the deadliest single attacks of the three-year war.
Zelensky said last week that Russia was amassing some 50,000 troops for an offensive on the region.
A separate Russian drone attack on Kharkiv killed one person, the prosecutor’s office said, while the cities of Odesa and Chernigiv were also hit in overnight attacks.
