Russische Raketen treffen das Herz von Sumy am Tag der Heiligen Drei Könige: Ein neues Massaker erschüttert die Ukraine.

In a dangerous escalation reflecting a new phase in the ongoing war, Russia launched a devastating missile attack on the center of the Ukrainian city of Sumy, resulting in the death of at least 32 people, including two children, and injuring around a hundred others, including ten children, according to the Ukrainian Emergency Services.

The attack coincided with the celebrations of the Feast of Epiphany, at a time when the streets were crowded with pedestrians, exacerbating the scale of the humanitarian disaster.

Keith Kellogg, former US President Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine, described the attack as a "blatant violation of all moral boundaries," calling for "strong pressure" to be exerted on Moscow to put an end to the bloody war.

His statements came hours after the strike, which he said demonstrates Russia's escalation in using violence against civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, did not hide his displeasure, affirming that "Russia will continue killing unless faced with real international pressure and tangible support for Ukraine."

He added that an American proposal for a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire remains unimplemented, despite being presented two months ago.

The missile strike on Sumy comes at a highly sensitive time, following a visit by a senior American official to Russia after the resumption of communications between Washington and Moscow in mid-February, in a new diplomatic attempt to reduce tensions, but the results remain unclear.

Sumy, located just about 50 kilometers from the Russian border, was until recently relatively far from the fierce battles concentrated in Donetsk to the south, but Ukrainian warnings of Russian intentions to launch a new attack on the city have finally materialized.

Moscow announced on Thursday its control over a town in the Sumy region, in a rare advance north-east of the country since its withdrawal from the area in the spring of 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Army Commander Oleksandr Syrsky confirmed that Russia has already begun carrying out offensive operations in Sumy and Kharkiv to establish "buffer zones" to prevent further Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory, indicating a new stage of the military confrontation that may be more intense and widespread.