Trump says deadly Russian missile attack was a 'Mistake'

Trump Describes Russia’s Deadly Strike on Ukrainian City as a ‘Horrible’ ‘Mistake’

New York Times

April 14, 2025

At least 35 people were killed in the attack on Sumy, which came as Ukraine’s leader urged President Trump to come witness the realities of war firsthand.

It was not immediately clear what President Trump meant when he said he had been told Russia “made a mistake” with its missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy.CreditCredit...Roman Pilipey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

VIDEO OF TRUMP INTERVIEW

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Trump Says He Was Told Russia’s Deadly Strike Was a ‘Mistake’

It was not immediately clear what President Trump meant when he said he had been told Russia “made a mistake” with its missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

Video transcript: “Do you have a reaction to Russia’s Palm Sunday attack?” “Oh, I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think the war is — For that war to have started is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president.” “You were told they made a mistake? Do you mean it was unintentional?” “They made a mistake. I believe it was — Look, you’re going to ask them. This is Biden’s war. This is not my war. I’ve been here for a very short period of time.”

By Constant Méheut

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

President Trump has said Russia’s deadly missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy was “a mistake,” calling it a “horrible thing” even as members of his administration went further with condemnation that served as a rare critique of Moscow while the White House is pushing for a cease-fire.

Two ballistic missiles killed at least 35 people and injured more than 100 in Sumy on Sunday morning. The attack was the second in just over a week to inflict heavy civilian casualties in Ukraine, which Kyiv has said shows that Moscow is not truly interested in a truce.

“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing,” Mr. Trump said about the Sumy attack when he was aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, told the Kommersant newspaper on Monday that Moscow had targeted “a get-together of Ukrainian military chiefs with their Western counterparts” in Sumy. He declined to comment on the civilian deaths.

Ukraine’s military did not say whether any service members were killed in the attack, and several videos of the aftermath showed only casualties in civilian clothes. But Ukrainian news media, citing local military officials, reported that Col. Yuriy Yula, a commander in the 27th Brigade, had died in Sumy.

It was not immediately clear what Mr. Trump meant when he said he had been “told” Russia “made a mistake” — a formulation that could also be interpreted as an attempt to make excuses for Moscow. Mr. Trump has generally avoided criticizing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia since taking office in January.

The attack, which occurred while many in Sumy were celebrating Palm Sunday, killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 100.Credit...Volodymyr Hordiienko/Associated Press

Some top officials in the Trump administration were more explicit. Keith Kellogg, a retired U.S. general and Mr. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, said that Russian forces had crossed “any line of decency” by targeting civilians in Sumy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned what he described as a “horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy.”

“This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace,” Mr. Rubio wrote on social media.

The condemnations came as the U.S. efforts to broker a cease-fire have failed to yield results. In recent days, White House officials have said that Russia was running out of time to convince the Trump administration that it is serious about striking a peace deal — and not just playing for time.

Ukrainian officials have said that Russia is slow-walking the negotiations because it has no interest in halting the fighting while its army retains the advantage on the battlefield.

In an interview broadcast on Sunday but recorded before the attack on Sumy, President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Mr. Trump to Ukraine to witness the realities of the war firsthand.

“Come, look, and then let’s move with a plan on how to finish the war. You will understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did,” Mr. Zelensky told “60 Minutes” on CBS.

Mr. Zelensky was speaking with the broadcaster from Kryvyi Rih, his home city, where a Russian missile strike killed 19 people, including nine children, earlier this month.

“We respect your position,” he added, apparently a reference to Mr. Trump’s efforts to restore ties with Russia. “But, please, before making any decisions or plans for negotiations, come to see the people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”

Mourners at a memorial in Sumy on Monday.Credit...Roman Pilipey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Ukrainian officials said that Russian missiles hit Sumy, just 18 miles from the Russian border, as many people were out on the streets celebrating Palm Sunday, a Christian holiday widely observed in Ukraine. Videos of the aftermath showed scenes of devastation, with bloodied bodies lying motionless in the street and charred cars.

“There was a girl, maybe 14 years old — dead. A young woman — I won’t even describe the injuries, they were horrific. Another middle-aged woman had her jaw torn off,” said Volodymyr Boiko, a 69-year-old resident of Sumy who was in a bus hit by the blast wave. He suffered cuts to his face from flying shards.

The strike came just two days after Mr. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss a potential cease-fire.

The timing led some in Ukraine to suggest that Mr. Trump’s attempts to re-engage with Russia were only emboldening the Kremlin to continue its aggression. Memes proliferated on Ukrainian social media showing Mr. Witkoff shaking Mr. Putin’s hand with the carnage in Sumy as a backdrop.

In his nightly address on Sunday, Mr. Zelensky noted that it had been two months since Russia refused to agree to the unconditional cease-fire that Ukraine had accepted with U.S. urging.

“They are not afraid. That’s why they keep launching ballistic missiles,” he said.

Speaking to reporters on Monday during a visit to Kyiv, Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said that the Sumy attack demonstrated “the treachery of Russia having started this war and continuing to maintain it” even as discussions about a cease-fire are ongoing.

“It raises real questions about their good faith,” he said.

Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed reporting.

Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people.

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