British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned a Russian missile attack that killed more than 30 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday.
The prime minister said he was “appalled” by the attack, which saw two ballistic missiles strike Sumy as residents gathered on the morning of Palm Sunday.
Ukrainian emergency services said at least 32 people had been killed in the attack, including two children, while 84 had been injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that “only filthy scum can act like this – taking the lives of ordinary people.”
Starmer said: “This latest deadly attack is a stark reminder of the continued bloodshed perpetrated by Putin.
“President Zelensky has shown his commitment to peace, President Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions – as Ukraine has done.”
The attack comes after a week in which US envoy Steve Witkoff again travelled to Russia to press the Kremlin to come to the negotiating table as Donald Trump’s administration continues to seek a peace deal.
Moscow has already rejected a US-backed proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, and has appeared to drag its feet on implementing a more limited truce in the Black Sea, saying some of the sanctions on Russia should be lifted first.
While the West urges Russia to negotiate, German defence minister Boris Pistorius told a meeting of Ukraine’s allies earlier in the week that peace “appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.”
In the wake of Sunday’s attack on Sumy, which is around 32 kilometres from the Russian border, Zelensky said: “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What’s needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves.”