Kyiv and Moscow engaged in a blame game on Sunday regarding a missile strike on a school in the Ukrainian-occupied town of Sudzha, located in Russia’s Kursk region. Concurrently, Ukrainian officials reported new missile and drone attacks that resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people in Ukraine.
The ongoing conflict, which has persisted for nearly three years, shows no signs of abating despite promises from U.S. President Donald Trump to swiftly negotiate a ceasefire following his inauguration on January 20.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, a Russian-led attack using a guided aerial bomb on a former school building in Sudzha resulted in the deaths of four civilians, with another four seriously wounded and 80 rescued from the debris. In response to the attack, Ukraine condemned Russia’s actions, stating, “Hitting civilians with bombs is a signature style of Russian criminals! Even when the civilians are local residents, Russians.”
Russia refrained from providing casualty figures but accused Ukraine of committing a heinous act by targeting the school. The Russian defense ministry alleged that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had carried out a war crime by striking the boarding school in Sudzha. Additionally, Russian investigators announced the initiation of a criminal case against a Ukrainian commander they claimed was involved in the attack.
In August, Kyiv executed a surprise operation in the Kursk region, capturing several villages, including Sudzha, which had a pre-war population of approximately 6,000.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia as “devoid of civility,” sharing a video of the heavily damaged building and a wounded individual. He remarked, “They destroyed the building even though dozens of civilians were there,” highlighting the indiscriminate nature of Russian bombardments, which also affect local populations.
In the broader context of the conflict, regional authorities reported that at least 18 individuals were killed during Russian strikes that targeted central and eastern Ukraine overnight from Friday to Saturday. Among the victims were 14 people, including two children, who died in Poltava following a missile strike on a residential structure. Local officials confirmed at least 17 injuries as rescuers searched for survivors among the rubble.
Additional casualties occurred in Sumy region, with three deaths reported, and one individual killed in Kharkiv. Each side accused the other of new assaults on Sunday; Ukraine claimed an elderly woman was killed in Russian shelling in Kherson, while Russia reported two fatalities due to Ukrainian drone strikes in the Belgorod region.
In terms of battlefield dynamics, Moscow has been making advances over the past year, with the anniversary of the invasion approaching this month. On Saturday, the Russian military claimed to have “liberated” the village of Krymske in the northeastern suburbs of Toretsk, a location crucial for obstructing vital supply routes for Ukraine.
Both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have expressed a willingness to negotiate regarding the war, though specifics on timing and methods remain unclear. Trump has criticized the substantial financial support Washington has provided to Ukraine, while also threatening to impose further sanctions on Russia if an agreement to end the war is not reached. Putin, for his part, stated last month his openness to discussions with Ukraine, but he dismissed Zelensky as “illegitimate.”