Russia has claimed that its extensive aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent days were a “response” to increasing Ukrainian drone strikes against its own civilians, alleging that Ukraine is attempting to “disrupt” peace efforts.
Despite repeated rejections of proposals from Ukraine and its Western allies for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine from late Friday into early yesterday, resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen people and overwhelming the country’s air defenses.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been trying to mediate an end to Russia’s three-year offensive, stated that Vladimir Putin has “gone absolutely crazy” and threatened sanctions against Russia due to the attacks.
Diplomatic initiatives to resolve the conflict have intensified in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials engaging in direct talks for the first time in three years earlier this month.
The Russian defense ministry stated that “Kyiv, with support from certain European countries, has taken a series of provocative actions to hinder negotiations initiated by Russia.”
According to the ministry, Russian air defenses intercepted 2,331 Ukrainian drones between May 20 and 27, with more than half intercepted in areas outside the battlefield.
“Civilians, including women and children, have been injured,” the statement said, characterizing the recent strikes on Ukraine as a direct “response.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “At the very least, we can say that these actions by Kyiv are inconsistent with efforts toward a peace process.”
While Russia claimed it targeted only “military objectives” in Ukraine, Ukraine reported that at least 13 civilians were killed in Russian attacks on Sunday.
Russia’s large-scale military offensive on Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has led to tens of thousands of fatalities and devastated extensive regions in the east and south of the country.
Ukraine accused Russia of attempting to evade accountability for the civilian casualties.
“We need to put an end to this endless waiting—Russia requires more sanctions,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Telegram Tuesday.
For three of the past four nights, Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones, which Kyiv termed a weekend of “terror.”
Although Russia launched fewer drones overnight, strikes still caused damage to buildings in the northern Sumy region and injured several people in the regions of Kherson and Kharkiv, according to officials.
In a rare critique of Mr. Putin, President Trump took to social media on Sunday to state: “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 Kremlin downplayed Mr. Trump’s remarks on Monday, asserting that President Putin was taking steps “necessary to ensure Russia’s security” and that emotions were high at this moment.
During the weekend, Ukraine and Russia conducted their largest ever prisoner exchange, returning 1,000 individuals each, while Russia indicated it was preparing a document outlining its peace proposals following their discussions in Istanbul.
However, this document was not ready today, despite Russia’s announcement that it would present it to Ukraine once the prisoner exchange was completed.
Russia has consistently dismissed Ukraine and its Western allies’ demands for an unconditional and comprehensive ceasefire, insisting that Ukraine renounce its NATO aspirations and relinquish territory it currently controls.
“Once the memorandum is ready, it will be sent to Kyiv. We hope that the Ukrainian side is doing the same,” remarked Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Istanbul would be a “very good” venue for future discussions, following the successful negotiations held there earlier this month.
Heightened tensions between Europe and Russia arose this week after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz remarked that Ukraine’s key Western allies had lifted restrictions on the range of arms sent to Ukraine.
His comments sparked confusion regarding the West’s policy, asserting that they were not an announcement but rather referred to a process that had been “underway for months.”
The Kremlin cautioned that any new decision to eliminate range limits would be “at odds” with achieving a peace settlement and could be “quite dangerous.”
