Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia launched its greatest drone assault on Ukraine in a single day because the greater than three-year battle started, a Ukrainian official mentioned Monday. President Trump mentioned Russian chief Vladimir Putin had gone “absolutely crazy” in stepping up his nation’s bombing of Ukraine simply because the U.S. tries to dealer a peace settlement.
Russia’s Sunday evening assault included the launch of 355 drones, Yuriy Ihnat, head of the Ukrainian air drive’s communications division, instructed The Related Press. The earlier evening, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles of assorted sorts in what Ukrainian authorities mentioned was the biggest mixed aerial assault throughout the battle. Total, from Friday to Sunday, Russia launched round 900 drones at Ukraine, officers mentioned.
The escalation appeared to thwart hopes that Mr. Trump’s peace efforts may result in a breakthrough within the close to time period, as Putin seems to be decided to seize extra Ukrainian territory and inflict extra injury.
Rescuers assist native residents retrieve private belongings from destroyed flats, Might 25, 2025, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after a Russian assault utilizing exploding drones.
Serhii Ovcharyshyn/NikVesti.com/International Photos Ukraine/Getty
Russia has this month damaged its document for aerial bombardments of Ukraine thrice. The growth of its air marketing campaign got here after Kyiv in March accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S., however Moscow successfully rejected it. Russia can be nonetheless pushing alongside the roughly 620-mile entrance line, the place it has made sluggish and dear progress, and is assembling its forces for a summer season offensive, Ukraine and army analysts say.
Mr. Trump made it clear he’s shedding endurance with Putin.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” the U.S. president wrote Sunday evening in a submit on his Fact Social platform.
Putin is “needlessly killing a lot of people,” Mr. Trump mentioned, stating that “missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
He warned that if Putin desires to overcome all of Ukraine, it’ll “lead to the downfall of Russia!”
President Trump has expressed growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale battle in Ukraine.
However Mr. Trump once more expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, saying that he’s, “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”
Zelenskyy reacted to the in a single day Russian strikes in his personal social media submit on Monday, saying: “Only a sense of complete impunity can allow Russia to carry out such attacks and continually escalate their scale… There is no significant military logic to this, but there is considerable political meaning.”
He repeated his name for tighter worldwide financial sanctions on Russia as a method of ending the battle, as a result of Russia’s “desire to fight must be deprived of resources.”
Russia and Europe react to Trump’s remarks on Putin
The Russian authorities appeared to downplay Mr. Trump’s remarks about Putin as an emotional outburst, nevertheless some European leaders, who’ve been annoyed for months by the U.S. president repeating Kremlin speaking factors in regards to the battle and ridiculing Zelenskyy’s authorities, appeared to take some hope by the change in tack.
On the Kremlin, Putin’s chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters on Monday that, “the start of the negotiation process [with Ukraine], for which the American side has done a lot, is a very important achievement. We are very thankful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process. This is a very important achievement … Of course, at the same time this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone, absolutely, and with emotional reactions. We follow this very closely.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, nevertheless, instructed reporters throughout a go to to Vietnam that it appeared Mr. Trump gave the impression to be realizing that Putin had “lied” to him about eager to discover a diplomatic decision to the battle. The French chief mentioned his hope was that Mr. Trump’s anger at Moscow “translates into action,” and he known as for Ukraine’s worldwide companions to set a agency deadline for Moscow to conform to a ceasefire, with the specter of “massive sanctions” ought to Putin proceed to refuse.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in the meantime, instructed his nation’s broadcaster WDR that “Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness,” stressing the Kremlin’s rejection of proposed direct talks with Ukraine on the Vatican as proof that “we must be prepared for this war to last longer than we all wish or can imagine.”
Merz mentioned a number of of Ukraine’s companions had already dropped restrictions on permitting their army assist for use for strikes deep inside Russia.
“There are no longer any range restrictions on the weapons delivered to Ukraine. Not from the British, nor the French, nor from us… and not from the Americans either,” Merz mentioned Monday. “This means Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military targets in Russia. For a long time, it couldn’t do that, and with a few exceptions, it didn’t. We call this long-range fire, meaning equipping Ukraine in such a way that it can also strike military targets in the hinterland — and that is the decisive, qualitative difference in Ukraine’s warfare: Russia is attacking civilian cities without any regard, bombing cities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Ukraine does not do that.”
The European Union’s prime diplomat, overseas coverage chief Kaja Kallas, earlier described the most recent assaults on Kyiv as “totally appalling” and mentioned the bloc meant to impose extra sanctions on Russia.
Mr. Trump has threatened huge sanctions on Moscow, too, however up to now hasn’t taken motion.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Putin makes selections which might be vital to make sure Russia’s safety and that the assaults had been Moscow’s response to deep strikes by Ukraine.
Prisoner swap supplies a solitary signal of progress
Russia and Ukraine swapped tons of extra prisoners Sunday within the third and final a part of a significant trade that was a uncommon second of cooperation between the warring nations.
A display seize from a video exhibits Russian troopers after Russia and Ukraine on Sunday confirmed the third and last spherical of a large-scale prisoner swap carried out between Moscow and Kyiv below the phrases of an settlement reached in Istanbul earlier this month, in Russia, Might 25, 2025.
Russian Protection Ministry/Handout/Anadolu/Getty
Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned both sides exchanged 303 troopers, following the discharge of 307 combatants and civilians every on Saturday, and 390 on Friday — the most important whole swap of the battle.
Of their talks held in Istanbul earlier this month, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of battle and civilian detainees every. The trade has been the one tangible consequence of these direct talks up to now.
