A total of 31 people, including two children, were killed in a massive strike launched by the Russian military on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, the local acting mayor has said. And the Ukrainian emergency service warned the "terrible strike" will have likely caused "dozens" of casualties.

The statement read: "A terrible strike by Russian ballistic missiles on Sumy. Enemy missiles hit an ordinary city street, ordinary life, houses, educational institutions, cars on the street. And this is on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday." They added a "rescue operation is under way now", as the full extent of the disaster is to be assessed. In a separate statement, the region's mayor Artem Kobzar said Russia launched "a missile strike on civilians".