Germany's future chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia had committed a "grave war crime" with its missile strike on the Ukrainian town of Sumy.
At least 34 people were killed in the attack, AFP reported.
"It was a perfidious act and a serious war crime, deliberate and targeted," he told ARD television.
"There were two waves of attacks, and the second one arrived when emergency workers were tending to the victims," Merz explained.
"This is the response, this is what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does with those who talk to him about a ceasefire. Our willingness to discuss with him is interpreted not as a serious offer to make peace, but as weakness," he said.
Two ballistic missiles hit the northeastern city on the morning of 13 April. Two children were among the dead, authorities said.
Although outgoing German Chancellor Otto Scholz refused to supply Kiev with Taurus missiles capable of striking Russia's interior, Merz insisted he was open to the idea.
"I have always said that I will only do it in agreement with European partners. It has to be coordinated and if it is coordinated, then Germany has to participate," he stressed. | BGNES
