‘A Cowardly Attack’ – Europe Responds to Massacre in Sumy, Calling It a ‘War Crime’

EU chief Antonio Costa on Sunday called Russia’s missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy that killed at least 34 civilians a “criminal” act, as leaders from around the continent condemned the decisions of Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin as “cowardly”, with the German chancellor-elect going so far as to call them “war crimes.”

“Russia continues its campaign of violence, showing once again that this war exists and endures only because Russia chooses so,” the European Council president Costa wrote on social media on Sunday.

The person expected to be Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said on Sunday that Russia committed a “serious war crime” in its missile strike.

“It was a perfidious act, and it is a serious war crime, deliberate and intended,” Merz said in comments to German broadcaster ARD.

Merz’s Christian Democratic Party surged in German federal elections in February on a platform of dramatically increasing Germany’s defense spending, as the outgoing Social Democratic chancellor Olaf Scholz consistently dragged his heels on what he saw as an escalation in Europe’s commitment to weapons sent to Kyiv that could be used to hit targets within Russian territory.

“There are two waves of attacks, and the second arrived as emergency workers were taking care of the victims,” Merz said of the Russian massacre of civilians in Sumy.

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The chancellor-elect’s description of events matches what observers have repeatedly called the “double-tap” strategy of the Kremlin, when Russian forces launch air strikes on a Ukrainian civilian target, and then time their second strike on the same area for when he emergency crews will arrive.

“That is the response, that is what [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin does to those who talk with him of a ceasefire,” he added.

“Our willingness to discuss with him is interpreted not as a serious offer to make peace, but as weakness,” said Merz.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday he was “appalled” by the strikes, which killed at least 34 civilians, according to rescuers.

“I’m appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians in Sumy,” he posted on social media, adding that Putin “must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions.”

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on Sunday, one of US President Donald Trump’s few political cohorts in Europe, condemned what she called a “cowardly” Russian strike, saying it is “unacceptable.”

“On this holy day of Palm Sunday, a new horrible and cowardly Russian attack took place in Sumy, once again leaving innocent civilian victims, including, unfortunately, children,” she wrote on Whatsapp. “I firmly condemn this unacceptable violence, which goes against all real engagement in favor of peace.”