DISINFO: Russian missile strike only targeted Ukrainian military gathering in Sumy
SUMMARY
On April 13, 2025, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out missile strikes on the city of Sumy, specifically targeting a ceremony attended by members of the 117th Territorial Defence Brigade. The event, held at a local conference center, was organised to commemorate the unit’s anniversary and to honour distinguished servicemen with awards. There was no indiscriminate attack on civilians; Ukrainian forces deliberately placed civilians in harm's way by embedding military positions among them, treating them as expendable.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story is part of a wider attempt to deflect Russia’s responsibility for the Sumy massacre on 13 April 2025, when Russia attacked the city center during a religious celebration, killing 35 civilians and injuring another 117.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes were carried out by ballistic missiles; one hit a university building and another “exploded right over (a) street,” he said.
The attack happened just a few days after a similar Russian attack took place in Kryvyi Rih on 04 April 2025, which killed and wounded multiple civilians including at least 9 children. The missile strike in Sumy resulted in numerous civilian casualties that were documented not only by footage and reporters on the ground but also by a team of the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine. Contrary to pro-Russian media claims that the strike targeted military assets, the only reported military casualty was Yuri Yula, commander of the 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade, as confirmed by local media and the Berdychiv Rada. However, The published reports about Yula's death were later deleted - It was not specified what exactly caused these actions.
Russian attacks against non-combatants and civilian infrastructure have been a constant throughout the invasion, despite non-credible denials by Russian officials and pro-Kremlin disinformation. Since 2022, Russia has attacked civilian targets multiple times, including the city theatre in Mariupol, residential buildings, schools and energy facilities. On 05 March 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Russian top officials considered responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure" between October 2022 and March 2023, which are considered as war crimes.
Denying war crimes and shifting blame is a key tactic in pro-Kremlin disinformation. In our article, 1,000 and 4,000 Days of Using Disinformation to Hide War Crimes and Atrocities, we explore how the Kremlin uses lies to cover up violence, with deception serving to justify brutality.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Russia targeted Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in Sumy, that the Sumy attack was a military one, that Russia only attacks military facilities in Ukraine, that Ukraine violates international humanitarian law while Russia respects it or that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians