Zelensky calls on U.S. lawmakers to pass Graham sanctions bill after Sumy bombing
A Russian guided bomb hit a Sumy apartment building, killing two city council employees and wounding seven, leading Zelensky to urge U.S. lawmakers to approve Graham's sanctions bill.
Russian forces deployed a guided bomb that hit a multilevel apartment building in Sumy, resulting in the deaths of two city council employees and injuries to seven civilians, among them a 13-year-old girl, with three victims critically hurt. Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional administration, described the strike, while Mayor Artem Kobzar identified the deceased as municipal council workers. President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the bomb struck between the third and fourth floors and used the incident to appeal to U.S. policymakers.
He urged the passage of Senator Lindsey Graham’s sanctions legislation, arguing it could compel Russia to choose peace. The Ukrainian leader framed the U.S. decision as a chance to send a decisive signal to the aggressor. The call comes as the conflict continues to affect civilian populations in northeastern Ukraine.
Why it matters
The strike underscores civilian suffering in Ukraine and pushes U.S. legislators to adopt tougher sanctions on Russia.
How this story developed
- Aug 30 India supplies nearly a million barrels of gasoline to Russia as Moscow faces refinery attacks
- Sep 4 A Russian drone hit central Kyiv, destroying the Zavertailo restaurant beside St. Sophia’s Cathedral and setting an adjacent building ablaze.
- Sep 6 Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine have killed civilians and injured dozens in several oblasts.
- Sep 8 The three‑day pause on attacks ended and Russian strikes on Kyiv resumed.
- Sep 8 Casualty toll rises to as many as three dead and sixteen injured.
- Sep 10 Ukraine has started an offensive operation in the north of the Donetsk region, according to Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi.
- Sep 11 Russia has begun importing Jet A‑1 from South Korea and Egypt.
- Sep 14 Donald Trump, speaking on his return trip from Ireland to the United States, again urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop attacking Russian diesel refineries. He claimed that many diesel supplies originate from Russia and that Ukrainian strikes on those plants damage the global fuel market. Trump added that the ongoing shortage of gasoline and diesel is driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, not by events in the Middle East. Kyiv has defended the attacks, calling the refineries lawful military objectives that diminish Russia’s oil revenue and hamper its ability to fund the invasion. Recent Ukrainian raids have indeed lowered Russian fuel inventories, prompting concerns about broader energy security. The White House released a recording of the remarks, highlighting Trump’s continued involvement in the conflict’s diplomatic discourse.
- Sep 14 Trump posted on Truth Social that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to halt energy attacks.
- Sep 15 Ukrainian drones and missiles struck an Ozon warehouse in Taganrog and damaged an industrial facility in the Samara region.
- Sep 15 Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian assault on Lyman.
- Sep 16 Lavrov announced Russia's readiness to resume US‑Ukraine‑Russia negotiations and a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the UN General Assembly.
- Sep 16 A new drone attack on a bus has increased the civilian death toll in the latest wave of strikes.
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