Dozens of people were wounded in fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy today, local officials said, as Russian envoys met with Trump administration representatives in Saudi Arabia to discuss prospects for peace.
The local city council said that 74 people, including 13 children, were among those wounded after Russian forces launched a missile attack against residential areas and infrastructure facilities, including a 'children's hospital'.
Rescue teams were still trying to establish the full extent of the damage as they sifted through rubble and put out fires today. The strikes shattered windows and damaged the roofs and walls of homes and the school, Ukrainian Pravda reports.
It was Russia's turn to meet with U.S. representatives in Saudi Arabia today as missiles continued to pound northeastern Ukraine. The White House stressed the primary importance of first reaching a ceasefire in the Black Sea, to the south, to allow unhindered shipping, before moving towards a more comprehensive deal.
All eyes were on Riyadh amid talks aimed at rejoining some of the key differences of expectation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has insisted it is committed to a U.S.-mediated 30-day halt on attacks on loosely-defined 'energy facilities'. But civilians in Ukraine still awoke on Monday to a massive drone assault, causing damage and injuries, according to the air force.
The limited progress towards a partial ceasefire looked fragile last week when Zelensky accused Putin of breaching the terms the Russian leader had agreed to just hours prior. Russia then accused Ukraine of derailing the deal with an attack on a gas metering station in Kursk. Zelensky cast doubt over Russia's reporting of events.
And despite a U.S. push for European nations to take more responsibility for defence on the continent, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, rubbished Sir Keir Starmer's plans to put boots on the ground to uphold a more enduring ceasefire as a 'combination of a posture and a pose', leaving Ukraine's future ever more uncertain.
Smoke billows after the strike on Sumy earlier today
Rescuers and volunteers evacuate a wounded person from an apartment building damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine March 24
Russia's Vladimir Putin during a press conference with journalists in Moscow, March 18, 2024
The regional administration in Sumy published videos showing damaged high-rise residential buildings, with many balconies blackened and smoke billowing out.
It also showed debris on a basketball court and firefighters working to put out a blaze.
Children at the school were being evacuated at the time, and all were safe, according to initial reports from regional head Volodymyr Artiukh.
But the regional prosecutor's office said 65 people were injured, including 14 children.
This was later updated to 74 injured, including 13 children.
Russia briefly occupied parts of Sumy at the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
It lies across the region of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops led a shock offensive late August before being mostly pushed back.
Talks are ongoing towards agreeing an initial 30-day ceasefire touted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russia strikes the Ukrainian city of Sumy on March 24, 2025
A wounded person stands near an apartment building damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine March 24, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) holding a meeting of the Military Cabinet in Kharkiv on March 22, 2025
In a show of good faith following a disastrous meeting at the White House last month, President Zelensky has emphasized that Ukraine is open to the full, 30-day ceasefire outlined by the Trump administration.
But Mr Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine's military mobilisation - demands rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed in principle last Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after Trump spoke with the countries' leaders, but the parties have offered different views of which targets would be off-limits to attack.
While the White House said 'energy and infrastructure' would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to 'energy infrastructure'.
Zelensky has said he would also like to see railways and ports protected.
Talks on Monday are expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping.
US and Russian representatives began meeting in the morning in the Saudi capital, Russia's state Tass and Ria-Novosti news agencies reported.
The US and Ukrainian teams met on Sunday in Riyadh, and more contacts were expected, though it was not clear when.
A general view of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where talks between Russia and U.S. are being held aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 24
Steve Witkoff, left, White House special envoy, walks toward the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia
The Ukrainian team is also expecting a second meeting with the Americans today, a source in Kyiv told the AFP news agency, a sign that progress may have been made.
Officials are now studying a possible resumption of the Black Sea Initiative, a year-long agreement that allowed millions of tonnes of grain and other food exports to be shipped from Ukraine's ports.
'The issue of the Black Sea Initiative and all aspects related to the renewal of this initiative is on the agenda today,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in his daily briefing.
'This was President Trump's proposal and President Putin agreed to it. It was with this mandate that our delegation travelled to Riyadh.'
The two sets of talks were originally planned to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy, with the United States going back and forth between the delegations.
The US team is being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and senior State Department official Michael Anton, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.
Over 2,000 people have left the Krasnopillia Raion since the start of heavy shelling in March
A dog stands near a destroyed private house after Russian shelling on March 23, 2025 in Krasnopillia, Sumy Oblast
Chickens walk near a destroyed private house after Russian shelling on March 23, 2025 in Krasnopillia, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine
Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who heads the Ukrainian team, said the first round of talks that finished late on Sunday was 'productive and focused'.
'We addressed key points including energy,' Umerov said on social media.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has voiced optimism that any agreement struck would pave the way for a 'full-on' ceasefire.
'I think you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries.
'And from that you'll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire,' he told Fox News.
