A Russian drone strike killed nine people and injured four others in Ukraine’s Sumy region on Saturday, May 17, 2025, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack came just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in years.
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Ukraine’s National Police called the attack a “cynical war crime” in a message on the Telegram app. Ihor Tkachenko, head of the Sumy military administration, said that rescue teams were working at the scene.
Photos shared by Ukraine’s police show a dark blue passenger van that was badly damaged — its roof ripped off and windows shattered.
The peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials were held in Turkey on Friday, May 16, 2025. However, the meeting did not lead to a temporary ceasefire. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the war began in February 2022.
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Reuters could not confirm Ukraine’s report independently, and Russia has not commented yet. Both countries claim they do not target civilians, but the war has already killed thousands of people — most of them Ukrainians.
