Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, a day after officials from the two countries met for fresh peace talks.At a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, the two sides again failed to strike a deal on a truce, agreeing only on a large-scale exchange of captured soldiers.Moscow has appeared to stick to its hardline demands – calling for Ukraine to pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its invasion, according to a memorandum handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.Russia’s troops have also accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a “buffer zone” inside Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.A rocket attack on the city, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, on Tuesday killed at least three people, Zelensky said.“The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy – directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians,” he said in a post on social media.He posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road.Local officials said Russia fired five MLRS rockets at the city around 09:00 am (06:00 GMT).Zelensky said the attack “says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war.”He called for “decisive actions” from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.“Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defense,” he said.Delegation in WashingtonIn Monday’s meeting, Ukraine said that Moscow had rejected its call for an unconditional ceasefire. It offered instead a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline.A delegation of top Ukrainian officials landed in Washington on Tuesday for talks with US officials on defense and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelensky’s office said.“We plan to talk about defense support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, said on social media.US President Donald Trump, who promised to end the war in Ukraine swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelensky as the war drags through its fourth year with no end in sight.Russia’s army said Tuesday it had captured another village in the Sumy region, Andriivka, located around five kilometers from the Russian border.Sumy was a key logistics hub for Ukraine’s months-long offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.Attacks on the city have escalated since Russia said in April it had fully recaptured the Kursk region.More than 30 were killed there in a Russian ballistic missile strike on the city center in April, one of the deadliest single attacks of the three-year war.Zelensky said last week that Russia was amassing some 50,000 troops for an offensive on the region.A separate Russian drone attack on Kharkiv killed one person, the prosecutor’s office said, while the cities of Odesa and Chernigiv were also hit in overnight attacks.The post Zelensky Says Russia ‘Deliberately’ Targeting Civilians After 3 Killed in Sumy appeared first on The Defense Post.