‘Horrible thing’: Donald Trump after Russia launches fresh attack on Ukraine; Zelensky says ‘100% hatred for Putin’

US President Donald Trump said that the Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, which resulted in at least 34 deaths, was “a horrible thing.”

As reported by AFP, the attack has drawn widespread international condemnation as tensions continue to rise in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

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“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing,” Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One while headed back to Washington. 

Asked to clarify what he meant by a “mistake,” Trump said, "They made a mistake... you're gonna ask them" -- without specifying who or what he meant.

On Sunday morning, two Russian ballistic missiles struck the centre of Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border, Ukrainian authorities reported. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Palm Sunday, a Christian feast, as a deliberate assault on civilians during a day of religious observance.

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Volodymyr Zelensky urged his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to visit his country to better understand the devastation wrought by Russia's invasion.

“Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” he said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview broadcast Sunday.

With a visit to Ukraine, Trump “will understand what (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin did" and added, "You will understand with whom you have a deal.” 

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The Ukrainian leader said he had “100 percent hatred” for Putin, asking, "How else can you see a person who came here and murdered our people, murdered children?"

However, he added that the animosity “doesn't mean we shouldn't work to end the war as soon as possible.”

As negotiations continue over ending the war, Zelensky said that a just peace would be "to not lose our sovereignty or our independence" and pledged to eventually reclaim any territory currently held by Russia.

“We, no matter what, will take back what is ours because we never lost it -- the Russians took it from us.”

(With inputs from agencies)