Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that Moscow’s deadly missile strikes on Sumy and Kryvyi Rih earlier this month were intentional, directly contradicting US President Donald Trump’s assumption Russia struck Kryvyi Rih accidentally.
In a video published by Russian state agency TASS, Putin claimed that the attacks were acts of retribution allegedly against Ukrainian military personnel. The claim that the military was a target have been unconfirmed, while the attacks resulted in numerous civilian deaths and injuries.
Referring to the Sumy strike, Putin stated:
“It was well known to us that our armed forces struck a congress hall, I believe at Sumy University… A civilian facility? Yes. But there, awards were being given to those who committed crimes in Kursk Oblast — both Ukrainian army units and nationalists. These are the people we consider criminals who deserved retribution.”
He further referenced a strike on a restaurant, saying,
“Meetings were also held in restaurants by people who deserve the most serious punishment for their crimes… So a strike was delivered there too.”
Although he did not name Kryvyi Rih directly, Militarnyi noted that his description matches Russian propaganda narratives about the 4 April missile strike on the city.
The Russian Defense Ministry had claimed the strike in Kryvyi Rih hit a restaurant hosting a meeting between Ukrainian commanders and Western instructors, allegedly killing up to 85 personnel and destroying 20 vehicles.
However, CCTV footage later confirmed that the restaurant was nearly empty, as a beauty industry event had concluded shortly before the missile hit.
Trump’s earlier remarks and Russian claims
Shortly after the Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih, Trump said:
“I think it was terrible. I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing.”
- On 4 April, a Russian Iskander-M/KN-23 missile struck a residential area in central Kryvyi Rih, hitting apartment blocks, a detached housing area, a restaurant, a playground, and a parking lot. The attack killed 21 people, including 9 children, and injured 75 others, including 12 children.
- On 13 April, two Russian Iskander-M/KN-23 missiles struck Sumy’s historic city center on Palm Sunday morning. One missile hit the congress hall of Sumy State University; the other struck 140 meters away, near a building of the Ukrainian Academy of Banking. The attack killed 35 people, including two children, and wounded 127 others, among them 18 children. Two Ukrainian soldiers also died while driving past the impact zone.
