Reckless, cruel Civilian deaths Should Influence Talks With US

Even by the warped standards of wartime, Russia's attack on Sumy was astonishingly brazen. Two high-speed ballistic missiles, armed, Ukraine says, with cluster munitions, slammed into the heart of the border city mid-morning as families went to church, waited for a theatre performance or were strolling about on a mild spring day.

- Dan Sabbagh

The death toll currently stands at 34, including two children. Images from the scene show bodies or body bags on the ground, a trolleybus and cars burnt out, rubble scattered around. It was reckless, cruel and vicious, and its consequences predictable to those who gave the order and pressed launch. To contemplate a daytime city-centre attack reflects a Russian culture of impunity that has been allowed to endure without effective challenge.