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Donald Trump says a Russian missile attack that killed 34 people,including two children,in Ukraine on Sunday morning was a ‘mistake’.

Close to the Russian border,there is rarely time for the sirens to sound before air strikes hit their targets.

So when two ballistic missiles hit an intersection in Sumy,a city of 250,000 people,around 7.30am on Palm Sunday,the result was carnage – at least 34 dead and 117 injures.

Dead bodies covered in foil blankets lay on an intersection. A bus was burnt out,charred trees had fallen,and several cars were on fire. A woman crouched down and hugged one of the dead.

‘On this bright day of Palm Sunday,our community suffered a terrible tragedy’,the city’s mayor Artem Kobzar said in a statement on Telegram.

President Zelensky’s words were harsher: ‘Only a scoundrel can act like this.’

Ukraine’s allies have condemned the attack. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was ‘appalled’. French President Emmanuel Macron called it a ‘blatant disregard for human lives’. Germany’s incoming Chancellor accused Russia of a war crime.

Donald Trump called it a ‘mistake’. His special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said the attack crossed ‘any line of decency’,and Trump did concede it was a ‘horrible thing’.

The deadly attack comes a day after Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaking a partial ceasefire deal (Picture: State Emergency Service of Ukraine via Reuters)

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But the US President appeared to echo the official Russian line when he told reporters,without elaborating: ‘They told me they made a mistake…. they made a mistake.’

While Trump has previously appeared to blame Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his country – telling him ‘You should never have started it’ – the president took a different tone when speaking to reporters on Air Force One.

‘Putin never would have started that war’ if Trump was President at the time,he claimed.

He said: ‘That war is a shame. Millions of people are dead that should be alive. Cities are being destroyed all over Ukraine,the culture is gone,or certainly very severely hurt.

‘The chapels,the churches,the spirals,all of the things that they had in Ukraine were among the most beautiful anywhere in the world. Most of them are knocked down and blown up into a million pieces.’

Sumy was one of those cities famous for its white churches and spires. Videos from Sunday show pedestrians scrambling for cover when a missile – believed to be an Iskander-M – landed with a loud bang.

It was followed by the sound of shattered glass,falling rubble and car alarms mixed with sirens.

Afterwards,medics could be seen tending to bloodied survivors while thick black smoke billowed from the blown up bus.

The facade of a nearby university building appears to have been destroyed in one of the explosions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said: ‘Enemy missiles hit an ordinary city street,ordinary life: houses,educational institutions,cars on the street.

‘And this is on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday,the feast of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem.’

He added: ‘Only a scoundrel can act like this.’

Survivors were evacuated from the bus after it was hit (Picture: Sumy Regional Prosecutor’s Office/AFP via Getty Images)

The strikes come the day after Russia and Ukraine’ top diplomats accused each other of violating an agreement to pause strikes on energy infrastructure.

Both countries had agreed to a tentative US-brokered 30-day ceasefire last month,before both alleging immediate breaches by the other side.

‘The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning,every passing day,maybe with two or three exceptions’,Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

US President Donald Trump,meanwhile,thinks the peace talks ‘might be going OK’,despite his frustrations with Russia.

On Saturday,he said: ‘There’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up and we’ll see what happens,but I think it’s going fine.’

Ukraine accused Russia of terrorism (Picture: Ukrainian Emergency Service/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined other European leaders in condemning the Russian attack in Sumy.

He said: ‘I’m appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians in Sumy and my thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones at this tragic time.

‘President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions.’

For Zelensky,this latest attack is proof that Russia – which invaded Ukraine – is not interested in peace.

Just last week,a Russian missile killed 20 people,including nine children,when it hit a playground in Zelensky’s own hometown.

Today,he said: ‘A tough reaction from the world is needed. The United States,Europe,everyone in the world who wants an end to this war and murders.

‘Russia wants exactly this kind of terror and is dragging out this war. Without pressure on the aggressor,peace is impossible.

‘Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and air bombs. We need the kind of attitude towards Russia that a terrorist deserves.’

A partition plan proposed by Trump’s envoy to Ukraine,Keith Kellogg (Picture: Metro)

Russia accused Ukraine of launching attacks on energy infrastructure on the other side of the border in Belgorod twice in the last day.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: ‘Everyone knows: this war was initiated by Russia alone. And today,it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives,international law,and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump.

‘Strong measures are needed to impose a ceasefire on Russia. France is working tirelessly toward this goal,alongside its partners.

‘To the victims,the wounded,and all of Ukraine that continues to resist: our solidarity,our respect,our unwavering commitment.’

France and the UK have been weighing up plans to send their own troops as a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in attempt to preserve any ceasefire.

Trump’s envoy to Ukraine – Keith Kellogg – suggested the country could be divided ’almost like Berlin after World War II’ as part of a deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.

It would involve British and French troops stationed in a western zone up to the banks of the River Dnipro,a Ukrainian zone in the country’s northeast,and continuing Russian occupation in the southeast and Crimea,with an 18-mile demilitarised zone.

Kellogg said: ‘Are there going to be violations? Probably,because there always are. But your ability to monitor that is easy.’