War in Ukraine: at least 21 people killed in a bombardment in Sumy

The city of Sumy, located in the east of the country, very close to the Russian border, has been the scene of heavy fighting for several days.

At least nine people were killed in an airstrike in Sumy, Ukraine on March 7, 2022. (GOOGLE MAPS)

The balance sheet is getting heavier. At least 21 people, including two children, died following an airstrike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Monday evening March 7. "Enemy planes have insidiously attacked residential buildings" , announced on Telegram the Ukrainian emergency services, which arrived at the scene of the bombardment around 11 p.m. local time. A woman was rescued alive from the rubble, they said.  The previous report published by the emergency services reported nine deaths.

Disruptions to the humanitarian corridor feared

Sumy, which has been the scene of heavy fighting for several days, is one of the cities that should benefit from the humanitarian corridors announced by Russia  to evacuate civilians. According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, the Kremlin pledged in a letter to the Red Cross to respect a ceasefire from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time on Tuesday, and a first evacuation convoy from from 10 o'clock. 

However, this manager immediately denounced a breach of this commitment. “We have information that the Russian side is planning to disrupt this corridor, and that there are manipulations to force people to take another route, which is uncoordinated [with the Ukrainians] and is dangerous ,” she asserted. She also noted requests for humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from other cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Volnovakha, and called on Russia to "urgently coordinate with the Ukrainians" to secure a ceasefire on these areas.