The drone strike in the Sumy region amounts to ‘a cynical war crime’, Ukraine’s National Police say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for tougher sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers, just hours after the two countries held their first direct peace talks in years.
Seven others were injured in the attack in Bilopillia in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Sumy, Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Saturday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had targeted Ukrainian military equipment, the TASS news agency reported. Russia denies targeting civilians since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although thousands have been killed.
“All the deceased were civilians,” Zelenskyy said, adding that preliminary reports indicated a father, mother and daughter had been killed. “And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians.”
He said the wounded had suffered burns, fractures, and blast injuries, and were receiving treatment in hospital.
The Ukrainian leader said he expected tougher sanctions from Ukraine’s partners to pressure Moscow “to stop the killings”, which came shortly after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday to to attempt to broker a temporary ceasefire.
“Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy,” he said. “This must change.”
He said Russia had sent “a weak and unprepared” delegation to Istanbul without a meaningful mandate, and real steps were needed to end the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced the attack as an “deliberate and barbaric war crime”, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of continuing “to wage a war against civilians” and calling for additional pressure on Russia.
“There should be no illusions. Pressure on Moscow must be increased to put an end to Russian terror,” Sybiha wrote.
No breakthrough
The 90-minute talks in Istanbul on Friday failed to reach a breakthrough, but ended with both sides agreeing to swap 1,000 prisoners in what would be the largest such exchange since the start of the war in 2022.
Vladimir Medinsky, the lead Russian negotiator, expressed satisfaction with the talks and said Moscow was ready for further negotiations, including on a ceasefire. “We have agreed that all sides will present their views on a possible ceasefire and set them out in detail,” he said after the meeting.
But a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters news agency that Russia’s demands were “detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed”.
The source told the agency Russia had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from all parts of its own territory claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, “and other non-starters”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday said Putin could meet with Zelenskyy – the first time such a meeting would have taken place since December 2019 – but only if certain agreements were reached. He did not elaborate on what would be required.
Speaking to Reuters on Saturday, British foreign minister David Lammy accused Moscow of obfuscating in its approach to the peace talks.
“Yet again we are seeing obfuscation on the Russian side and unwillingness to get serious about the enduring peace that is now required in Ukraine,” said Lammy. “Once again Russia is not serious.”
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Kyiv, said Medinsky, Russia’s lead negotiator, had sent a clear message during the negotiations that Moscow was ready to continue the war for years – and had no problem in continuing to conduct the war at the same time as it held talks.
“And that is exactly what they have done,” said Basravi, adding that the destroyed vehicle in Bilopillia had been evacuating residents from a conflict zone, according to Ukraine.