Sumy Oblast governor confirms award ceremony plans ahead of Russian strike but denies responsibility
Sumy Oblast Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said he was invited to a military awards ceremony in Sumy planned for the same day when Russia launched a deadly attack but denied initiating the event in comments for the Suspilne outlet published on April 14.
Russia launched a devastating missile attack against the Sumy city center on Palm Sunday on April 13, killing 35 people and injuring around 120. It marked one of the worst attacks against the northeastern city throughout the full-scale war.
Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of the Sumy Oblast city of Konotop, accused Artiukh of planning an awards ceremony for the 117th Brigade in the regional center on the same day, thus posing undue risk to civilians and military personnel.
"It wasn't my initiative. I was invited," Artiukh told Suspilne, without commenting on who was behind the planned event.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims, and the Ukrainian military and security services have not commented on the accusations.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the missile struck the command center of the Siversk operational-tactical group in the city, without providing evidence. Moscow has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about targeting military targets while striking civilian areas.
Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said that Russia deployed cluster munitions during the attack against Sumy's heavily populated areas.
These weapons are designed to maximize casualties by dispersing hundreds of smaller "bomblets" in a wide area upon impact and have been used on multiple occasions by Russia against Ukrainian cities and towns.
European leaders have denounced the attack as a war crime and an evidence of Russia's rejection of peace efforts. The strike took place as Moscow continues to reject a 30-day truce, previously supported by Kyiv.
Asami Terajima
