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Civilians in Sumy Have Only 45 Seconds to Hide From Russian Ballistic Missiles, Says Ukraine’s Interior Minister
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![Ivan_khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has warned that residents of Ukrainian border cities have less than one minute to reach shelter in the event of a ballistic missile strike. His comments follow the April 13 attack on Sumy, which killed 34 people and injured 119.
According to Ukrinform on April 14, citing Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, the missiles used in the strike were likely Iskander-M ballistic missiles equipped with high-explosive fragmentation warheads.
He noted that the first missile hit the city center at 10:15 a.m., with a second strike following approximately two minutes later, at 10:17 a.m.
“These missiles travel at over two kilometers per second. That means they can reach their target from 100 kilometers away in under 45 seconds,” Klymenko said during a televised statement. He emphasized that in cities close to the border, civilians must take cover within 30 to 60 seconds of an alert to maximize their chances of survival.
The second strike hit the educational complex of a local university, which suffered the highest number of casualties. A city trolleybus carrying civilians—many of them children—was also damaged in the attack.
Klymenko stated that the Iskander-M’s warhead detonates upon impact with solid surfaces, making it particularly lethal in densely populated areas.
Earlier, on April 11, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that in the month following Russia’s rejection of a US-backed ceasefire proposal, Russian forces launched nearly 70 missiles, over 2,200 Shahed drones, and more than 6,000 guided aerial bombs across Ukraine.
