More than 30 people killed, 84 injured in Russian missile attack on Ukrainian city of Sumy
Kyiv, Apr 13 (AP): At least 32 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, officials said.
Two ballistic missiles struck the heart of the city at around 10:15 a.m. as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, according to officials.
Images posted from the scene on official channels showed lines of black body bags lying on the side of the road, while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris.
Video footage also showed fire crews as they fought to extinguish the shells of burnt-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings.
“On this bright Palm Sunday, our community has suffered a terrible tragedy,” acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said in a statement on social media. “Unfortunately, we already know of more than 20 deaths.”
At least 32 people were killed as a result of the attack, including two children, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement. A further 84 people were injured, including 10 children, it said.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that rescue efforts were ongoing and said “dozens” had been killed in the double missile attack.
“According to preliminary information, dozens of civilians were killed and wounded. Only filthy scum can act like this — taking the lives of ordinary people,” he said.
The attack on Sumy is the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in just over a week, following a deadly missile strike on Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 that killed some 20 people, including nine children.
Zelenskyy also called for a global response to the attack. “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. What's needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said Sunday that a Russian strike had hit one of the city's kindergartens, shattering windows and damaging the building's facade. No casualties were reported.
The strikes come a day after Russia and Ukraine's senior diplomats accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the 3-year war.
The two countries' foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace prospects.
“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Moscow would provide the US, Turkiye and international bodies with a list of Kyiv's attacks during the past three weeks.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, contested that claim, saying Saturday that Russia had launched “almost 70 missiles, over 2,200 (exploding) drones, and over 6,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians" since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.
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MUDA case: Court raps Lokayukta over delay in submitting final report
Bengaluru (PTI): The Special Court for People's Representatives on Thursday expressed displeasure with the Lokayukta for failing to file the final investigation report in the MUDA land site allotment case, involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Despite clear directions from the court to submit the final "B report" by December 18 in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case, the Lokayukta placed only an interim progress report.
Questioning the delay, the judge sought an explanation from Lokayukta officials, who stated that the final report could not be filed as prosecution sanction against certain officials was still awaited.
During the proceedings, the court asked the Special Public Prosecutor to produce the case diary. The prosecutor submitted that the report could be placed before the court in a sealed cover if additional time was granted.
This was strongly opposed by the complainant, activist Snehamayi Krishna, who alleged that there was an attempt to mislead the court.
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Krishna further contended that no meaningful investigation had been conducted and accused the authorities of shielding the accused. He also claimed that no witnesses had been examined, despite specific directions issued by the court.
Observing that it could not pass any order in the absence of a final investigation report, the court adjourned the matter.
The special court deferred its orders on the petitions challenging the Lokayukta's B report and the clean chit granted to CM Siddaramaiah and three others to December 23.
The Lokayukta Police in February had given a clean chit to Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, and two other accused in connection with the case, stating that allegations against them have not been proven due to lack of evidence.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police on September 27, 2024.
In the site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
It was also alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over the 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
