<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/14/zelenskyy-invites-trump-to-ukraine-to-see-damage-from-russia-invasion-first-hand>
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to see the
devastation caused by Russia’s invasion, while the US president appeared to
play down Moscow’s latest deadly attack, the worst on civilians this year,
calling it “a mistake”.
International leaders condemned Russia’s strike on the centre of the Ukrainian
city of Sumy on Sunday, which killed 34 people, including two children. Two
ballistic missiles hit as people made their way to church for Palm Sunday.
One of the missiles exploded next to a crowded trolleybus, killing many of the
passengers onboard. Bodies lay on the ground and cars burned as rescuers
carried away bloodied survivors. More than 100 were injured.
Asked about Russia’s attack on civilians, Trump said he was trying to get the
war stopped. “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,” he
said.
On Monday, the Kremlin denied its army had targeted civilians or that there had
been any kind of “mistake”.
“Our army hits only military and military-related targets,” the Kremlin
spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said when asked about the strike and Trump’s
comments.
Russia’s defence ministry appeared to concede there had been civilian
casualties, but placed the blame on Ukraine. “The Kyiv regime continues to use
the Ukrainian population as a human shield, placing military facilities and
holding events with the participation of soldiers in the centre of a densely
populated city,” the ministry said. Russia has made similar accusations since
it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump also implied his predecessor, Joe Biden, was at fault for the war that
began with Vladimir Putin’s invasion. “This war would never have started if I
were president. That war is a shame,” he said.
His latest comments prompted an angry response from Ukrainians who are
frustrated at Trump’s failure to confront or condemn Putin.
Olena Halushka, of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre in Kyiv, said: “No one
accidentally uses a cluster munition warhead against a crowded city centre on a
major holiday.” She also noted that Russia had killed nine children in a
similar strike last week on the city of Kryvyi Rih.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, a former Lithuanian foreign minister, said: “This was
not a mistake. A mistake is something like imposing tariffs on penguins. What
we saw in Sumy is a deliberate continuation of a genocidal invasion. Our real
mistake is not helping Ukraine enough.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
