Putin recognizes Russia’s missile strike on Sumy: "Armed Forces received well-deserved retaliation"
For the first time, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged the missile strike on Sumy on April 13, 2025, saying that the purpose of the attack was "retaliation" for the "crimes" of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.
His statement was quoted by the Russian propaganda agency TASS, Censor.NET reports.
Putin acknowledged that the Russian army strikes at civilian targets in Ukraine, but justifies it by saying that the buildings are allegedly used by the Ukrainian military.
"As for the proposal not to strike at civilian infrastructure, we need to deal with this. For example, everyone is well aware of the attack by our Russian Armed Forces on the congress center of Sumy University. Was it a civilian facility or not? It was. But there was an award ceremony for those who committed crimes in the Kursk region, both Ukrainian army units and nationalists. These are the people we consider to be criminals who should have received well-deserved retribution for what they did in the border region, in particular, Kursk. They have received retribution. It was done to punish them," the Kremlin dictator tried to justify himself.
Putin also said that the Russian army allegedly intended to organize the production and testing of a new missile system in one of the hangars of an agricultural enterprise in Odesa region, which was attacked by the Russian army.
The Kremlin leader also acknowledged the Russian strike on the restaurant, without specifying the date and place, but presumably referring to the ballistic strike on the center of a residential neighborhood in Kryvyi Rih on April 4, which killed 20 people, including 9 children.
According to him, "people who deserve the most serious punishment" hold "gatherings, meetings, meetings, celebrate something there, drink vodka" in restaurants.
Earlier, the French TV channel France 24 released video from surveillance cameras in a restaurant in Kryvyi Rih that was hit by a Russian Iskander missile on April 4. The footage shows that there were no military personnel in the restaurant.
Ballistic missile attack on Sumy on April 13
On April 13, Russian invaders launched two missile strikes on the center of Sumy. April 14, 15, 16 were declared Days of Mourning in the city for those killed in the Russian attack on April 13.
The attack killed 35 people, including two children.
Testimonies about the first minutes after the ballistic missile attack on Sumy on April 13 can be found in Censor.NET's article: Passenger of the bus destroyed by the Russian "scanner" in Sumy: "I started pulling out those who showed signs of life. But the front third of the bus was cluttered with immobile bodies...".
