UK condemns Russian drone strike that left nine dead in Ukraine
The UK has condemned a Russian drone attack that killed nine people in Ukraine early on Saturday.
The attack, which struck a passenger bus in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region, came just hours after the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “appalled” by the incident, adding in a post on X: “If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done.”
Regional authorities described the attack as “another war crime by Russia” and declared a period of mourning until Monday.
On Friday, talks between Ukraine and Russia lasted less than two hours and saw both sides agree to the largest prisoner exchange since the start of the war in 2022.
But the unconditional ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and its Western allies appears to still be a distant prospect, with Moscow continuing to resist calls for a truce and Russian President Vladimir Putin declining to travel to Turkey to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Following a meeting with Zelensky and other European leaders in Albania on Friday, during which they also spoke to US President Donald Trump, Keir Starmer said Russia’s position was “clearly unacceptable”.
Speaking to reporters in Tirana, Starmer said Ukraine’s allies “need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire” as leaders discussed ramping up sanctions on Russia.
Responding to Saturday’s attack, Zelensky confirmed nine people had been killed, including a family of three, while seven others had been wounded and remained in hospital.
He said: “Russia retains nothing but the ability to continue killing.
“Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy.”
By Christopher McKeon, PA Political Correspondent