Presentation of the documentary project “Palm Sunday: Crime Chronology” created by the “Suspilne Sumy” team took place at SumDU. The film is dedicated to tragic events of 13 April 2025 when 35 people died as a result of a Russian missile strike on the Sumy center.

The documentary project recreates chronology of that day: from the peaceful morning of Palm Sunday to two strikes by Russian ballistic missiles on the city center. The film is based on memories of eyewitnesses, wounded persons, rescuers, volunteers and everyone who found themselves at the tragedy epicenter.

During the presentation, Vasyl KARPUSHA (SumDU rector) emphasized importance of preserving the memory of this crime.

“For me, as a Sumy resident, this memory is extremely important. And for the SumDU rector, it is doubly important. We must remember these crimes. Destructed buildings can be restored, but it is impossible to bring back people’s lives. Among the dead were our two students of the Medical Institute, who, like the rest of the people, accidentally found themselves in the tragedy epicenter. That is why such documentary projects are extremely important for historical memory and for future generations,” – noted the rector.

Vasyl KARPUSHA spoke about restoration of the university infrastructure damaged after the Russian attack. The first priority will be reconstruction of the educational building No. 2, which suffered significant damage during the second missile strike.

“Design and estimate documentation worth about 53 million hryvnias has already been developed. Currently, competitive procedures are underway within the state program for restoration of destroyed facilities. We have support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Sumy Regional Military Administration, and city authorities, so that this building is among the priority reconstruction sites. It is important for the city to see not only traces of the tragedy, but also the recovery process, which shows that Sumy is alive and developing,” – said the rector.

Kateryna HLADENKO, editor-in-chief of Suspilne Sumy, thanked everyone who agreed to share their stories:

“We recorded many people, tried to cover events of that day as much as possible. I thank everyone who entrusted us with their memories, their pain, and agreed to tell their story.”

The project author, Khrystyna DOVBNIA, noted that the main goal was not only to collect facts about the Russian strike, but also to preserve testimonies of people who survived the tragedy. In addition to personal stories, the film summarizes the information known to date about the course of official investigation and identification of those involved in organizing the attack.

The authors paid special attention to the story of the now deceased, head of the Sumy regional organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross, Ihor SHAPOVAL, who was one of the first to arrive at the tragedy scene and, together with his team, helped the victims. His testimony was included in the film.

The documentary film “Palm Sunday: Crime Chronology” is already available for viewing on the YouTube channel “Suspilne Sumy”.