Devastating Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Sumy were “mocking” US-led efforts to end the war, Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said.
European politicians have roundly condemned Russia’s bombing of Sumy, which on Sunday killed 35 people and injured many more. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said two children were killed and another 15 wounded in the attacks.
The “heinous” ballistic-missile strikes showed Russian leader Vladimir Putin was not seriously interested in peace talks, Mr Sikorski said. “I hope president Trump and the US administration see that the leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill,” he said.
Mr Sikorski was speaking in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers met to discuss increasing their support for Kyiv in the full-scale war that started when Russia invaded the country three years ago.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said Europe needed to put “maximum” pressure on Russia to stop the fighting. “It takes two to want peace, it only takes one to want war and we see that Russia really wants war,” she said.
The meeting on Monday discussed a proposal from Ms Kallas that would see EU states commit an extra €5 billion to buy more artillery shell rounds for Ukraine.
The former Estonian prime minister, who took over as the EU’s foreign affairs representative last year, said national capitals had agreed to come forward with two-thirds of the required funding so far and work was continuing on the plan. Ukraine needed the artillery ammunition “as soon as possible” she said.
A previous element of the plan calculating how much each contributing EU state would pay, based on their economic weight, has been dropped. Instead each state has been asked to voluntarily give what it can.
Negotiations led by the US to bring the war to a quick end – on terms some fear may hamstring Ukraine’s future security – has put pressure on the EU to do more to shore up Ukraine’s position.
The use of cluster munitions in the ballistic missile strikes on Sumy was a “war crime by definition”, said Kęstutis Budrys, Lithuanian foreign minister.
Russia “knew what it was doing”, killing civilians on their way to church on Sunday in the attack, Latvian foreign minister Baiba Braze said.
Russia said two of its missiles hit a meeting of Ukrainian military officers in Sumy.
Friedrich Merz, the conservative German politician set to become the next chancellor, at the weekend indicated his support for supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, something the previous coalition government resisted.
Separately, Ms Kallas and foreign ministers met senior figures from the Palestinian Authority (PA), the first high-level dialogue of its kind between the Palestinian administration and the EU.
The delegation of the PA, which controls part of the occupied West Bank, was led by prime minister Mohammad Mustafa.
[ No breakthrough in Gaza truce talksOpens in new window ]
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, announced it would provide €1.6 billion to the PA in funding spread over the next three years.
The funds are intended to help the authority run public services and support infrastructure projects in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been decimated by a war Israel has been waging against Hamas militants since October 2023.
While the PA controls parts of the West Bank, Gaza is ruled by Hamas.
Dubravka Suica, the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean region, said she deplored the breakdown in the ceasefire that had been agreed at the start of this year.
A stable PA was crucial for peace in the region, to allow the Palestinian administration to become a “credible” interlocutor for Israel, Ms Suica said.
The EU funding includes €82 million a year for Unrwa, the United Nations agency tasked with providing basic services to Palestinian refugees and civilians.
