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Some Republican lawmakers are questioning the sincerity of ongoing US efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine following a deadly Palm Sunday missile strike.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, on Sunday, a missile strike hit the Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday celebrations, killing at least 34 people—including two children—and injuring more than 100 others. The attack involved two ballistic missiles that struck the city center at approximately 10:15 AM as civilians gathered at a church to mark the beginning of Holy Week. Scenes from the aftermath showed charred vehicles, shattered buildings, and body bags. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a deliberate act of terror, stating that “only filthy scum can act like this—taking the lives of ordinary people.” He called for a global response and stronger sanctions against Russia, arguing that “talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs.” Meanwhile, Russia denied targeting civilians, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claiming Ukraine was the aggressor and pledging to present evidence of Ukrainian attacks. The strike occurred just one day after US and Russian envoys met for ceasefire discussions.
What’s going on now: In response to the strikes, Republican lawmakers have openly called for a stronger US stance against Russia and urged former President Donald Trump to reevaluate his approach to Vladimir Putin. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, wrote, “Putin and peace apparently do not fit in the same sentence,” adding that “Russia’s barbaric Palm Sunday attack on Christian worshippers in Ukraine seems to be Putin’s answer to efforts to achieve a ceasefire and peace.” Senator Graham also referenced a bill he’s pushing through the Senate that would “impose sanctions and secondary tariffs against Russia,” noting that it “now has 55 cosponsors in the US Senate.”
He added, “Unless there is a dramatic change soon, it is obvious to me that the only hope of ending this war is to continue to cripple Russia’s economy and punish those who prop up Putin.”
Representative Michael McCaul of Texas echoed that sentiment, saying, “While Ukraine has accepted President Trump’s ceasefire proposal, Putin continues to show he is more interested in bloodshed than in peace. Targeting innocent civilians as they gather to worship on Palm Sunday is beyond the pale. I condemn this barbaric act in the strongest of terms and am praying for all those affected.”
Despite the statements from two key republican lawmakers, Trump has stopped short of directly condemning Putin. He described the attack as “a horrible thing” and said Russia had “made a mistake.” Trump also took to Truth Social and said, “If the 2020 Presidential Election was not RIGGED, and it was, in so many ways, that horrible War would never have happened. President Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin. There were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting. But that is the past. Now we have to get it to STOP, AND FAST. SO SAD!”
