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Russian Drones Hammer Ukraine’s Odesa as Czech Leader Visits 

Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
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Russian Drones Hammer Ukraine’s Odesa as Czech Leader Visits 

Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)

Russia pounded Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa with one of its biggest drone attacks late on Thursday, injuring three teenagers and sparking fires as the Czech president visited, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack comes as the United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hoping to agree a partial ceasefire that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure by both sides.

Czech President Petr Pavel, a vocal backer of Kyiv who has led an effort to source more than one million artillery shells for Ukraine's war effort, was in the port city for talks with regional officials at the time of the strikes.

"Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region," Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

The long-range drones buzzed into the city in several waves, damaging infrastructure, residential houses and commercial buildings, and causing multiple fires, the interior ministry said.

Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst, told Reuters that Russia used new tactics for the attack, having its drones descend from a higher altitude than usual and at high speeds to make it harder for Ukraine's air defenses.

He said it was one of the "most massive" attacks on Odesa since Russia invaded in February 2022: "It was intimidation. Terror against the civilian population."

Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed during separate talks with US officials that they are ready for a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure. Moscow rejected a more comprehensive 30-day ceasefire.

Ukrainian, US and Russian delegations are due to meet in Saudi Arabia separately on Monday to discuss the details, officials have said.

Russia launched a total of 214 drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said. It did not specify how many drones targeted Odesa specifically.

The air force said it shot down 114 of the drones and that another 81 drones were "lost", its term for those suppressed using electronic warfare defenses.

Ukraine has used drones to continue striking targets in Russia, hitting oil infrastructure and a strategic bomber base in recent days.

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More Than 30 People Killed, 84 Injured in Russian Missile Attack on Ukrainian City of Sumy

The city center in the aftermath of the Russia's missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo)
The city center in the aftermath of the Russia's missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo)
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More Than 30 People Killed, 84 Injured in Russian Missile Attack on Ukrainian City of Sumy

The city center in the aftermath of the Russia's missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo)
The city center in the aftermath of the Russia's missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo)

At least 32 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, officials said.

Two ballistic missiles struck the heart of the city at around 10:15 a.m. as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, according to officials. Images posted from the scene on official channels showed lines of black body bags lying on the side of the road, while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris. Video footage also showed fire crews as they fought to extinguish the shells of burnt-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings.

“On this bright Palm Sunday, our community has suffered a terrible tragedy,” acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said in a statement on social media. “Unfortunately, we already know of more than 20 deaths.”

At least 32 people were killed as a result of the attack, including two children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement. A further 84 people were injured, including 10 children, it said, The AP news reported.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that rescue efforts were ongoing and said “dozens” had been killed in the double missile attack.

“According to preliminary information, dozens of civilians were killed and wounded. Only filthy scum can act like this — taking the lives of ordinary people,” he said.

The attack on Sumy is the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week, following a deadly missile strike on Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 that killed some 20 people, including nine children.

Zelenskyy also called for a global response to the attack. “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What’s needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said Sunday that a Russian strike had hit one of the city’s kindergartens, shattering windows and damaging the building’s facade. No casualties were reported.

The strikes come a day after Russia and Ukraine’s senior diplomats accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the 3-year war.

The two countries’ foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace prospects.

“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Moscow would provide the US, Türkiye and international bodies with a list of Kyiv’s attacks during the past three weeks.

His Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, contested that claim, saying Saturday that Russia had launched “almost 70 missiles, over 2,200 (exploding) drones, and over 6,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians" since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.