US Derails G-7 Condemnation of Russian Missile Strike on Ukraine

Russia fired two short-range ballistic missiles, including one equipped with cluster munitions, at Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy on Palm Sunday morning as Ukrainians attended church services. At least 35 people were killed and 119 injured in the attack, including children, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

President Donald Trump’s administration told allies it couldn’t sign the statement denouncing the attack as it is “working to preserve the space to negotiate peace,” according to people familiar with diplomatic correspondence, as meetings continue between the White House and the Kremlin.

Canada, which holds the G-7 presidency this year, told allies that without US endorsement it would be impossible to go ahead with the statement, according to the same people.

The US Embassy in London declined to comment. The White House, US National Security Council and Canadian government did not immediately respond to Bloomberg News requests for comment.

The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged it carried out the attack on Sumy in a Telegram post on Monday, while claiming it had struck a gathering of Ukrainian military command staff in the city and killed more than 60 servicemen.

The G-7’s statement planned to say that the attack on Sumy was proof that Russia was determined to continue the war, according to drafts seen by Bloomberg News.

Trump struck a different tone, describing the attack as “terrible” in comments to reporters on Sunday night, but saying without elaboration that he was told Russia had “made a mistake.”

Trump, who continues his rapid drive to strike a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, quickly shifted to blaming the fighting on his predecessor Joe Biden and Zelenskiy.

Russia’s strike on Sumy came two days after President Vladimir Putin met Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff for nearly five hours in St. Petersburg to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The talks with Putin opened up the possibility to “reshape” the Russia-US relationship and stabilize the region through some “very compelling commercial opportunities,” Witkoff told Fox News on Monday evening, without elaborating.

Following the Sumy attack, nearly 50 countries and international organizations spoke in support of Ukraine, Zelenskiy said Monday in his daily address to the nation.

Zelenskiy said that Kyiv had responded positively to Trump’s proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to attacks like those in Sumy and Kryvyi Rih, referring to a strike on a children’s playground in the southern city which killed 20 earlier this month.

But 34 days had passed since Trump’s proposal, during which Russia continued to attack Ukraine, Zelenskiy said. Putin remains committed to waging war and will continue to do so in the absence of serious pressure, said the Ukrainian leader.