(Updated: )
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A Russian missile strike that hit the northeastern regional capital of Sumy on March 24 injured 94 civilians, including 23 children, the Sumy City Council reported.
Most of the wounded residents have been transferred to local hospitals, according to the council.
The missile struck the city as the Russian and U.S. delegations met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Russian forces launched the attack against residential areas and infrastructure facilities, including children's hospital, according to acting mayor Artem Kobzar. Overall, at least 30 high-rises, 15 private residences, and an unspecified number of warehouses, offices, and medical facilities were damaged in the attack, regional military administration reported.
Search and rescue operation continued until at least 10 p.m. local time and was paused for the night, State Emergency Service said.
"Each day like this, every night under Russian missiles and drones, every single day of this war brings loss, pain, and destruction that Ukraine never wanted," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address. "The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who must be pressured to ensure security."
Zelensky said in mid-March that Russian troops have been gathering at the border, indicating plans to strike Sumy Oblast. "We understand this and will take countermeasures," he wrote.
Located just under 30 kilometers from the Russian border, the city of Sumy, as well as the surrounding region, has continuously come under attack since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
