Russia, Ukraine implicit monolithic captive swap
Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia launched its biggest drone onslaught connected Ukraine overnight since the much than three-year war began, a Ukrainian authoritative said Monday. President Trump said Russian person Vladimir Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" successful stepping up his country's bombing of Ukraine conscionable arsenic the U.S. tries to broker a bid agreement.
Russia's Sunday nighttime onslaught included the motorboat of 355 drones, Yuriy Ihnat, caput of the Ukrainian aerial force's communications department, told The Associated Press. The erstwhile night, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles of assorted types successful what Ukrainian authorities said was the largest combined aerial battle during the conflict. Overall, from Friday to Sunday, Russia launched astir 900 drones astatine Ukraine, officials said.
The escalation appeared to thwart hopes that Mr. Trump's bid efforts mightiness pb to a breakthrough successful the adjacent term, arsenic Putin looks determined to seizure much Ukrainian territory and inflict much damage.
Rescuers assistance section residents retrieve idiosyncratic belongings from destroyed apartments, May 25, 2025, successful Mykolaiv, Ukraine, aft a Russian onslaught utilizing exploding drones.
Serhii Ovcharyshyn/NikVesti.com/Global Images Ukraine/Getty
Russia has this period breached its grounds for aerial bombardments of Ukraine 3 times. The enlargement of its aerial run came aft Kyiv successful March accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire projected by the U.S., but Moscow efficaciously rejected it. Russia is besides inactive pushing on the astir 620-mile beforehand line, wherever it has made dilatory and costly progress, and is assembling its forces for a summertime offensive, Ukraine and subject analysts say.
Mr. Trump made it wide helium is losing patience with Putin.
"I've ever had a precise bully narration with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but thing has happened to him. He has gone perfectly CRAZY!" the U.S. president wrote Sunday nighttime successful a station connected his Truth Social platform.
Putin is "needlessly sidesplitting a batch of people," Mr. Trump said, pointing retired that "missiles and drones are being changeable into Cities successful Ukraine, for nary crushed whatsoever."
He warned that if Putin wants to conquer each of Ukraine, it volition "lead to the downfall of Russia!"
President Trump has expressed expanding vexation with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's ongoing full-scale warfare successful Ukraine.
But Mr. Trump again expressed vexation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, saying that he's, "doing his Country nary favors by talking the mode helium does."
Zelenskyy reacted to the overnight Russian strikes successful his ain societal media station connected Monday, saying: "Only a consciousness of implicit impunity tin let Russia to transportation retired specified attacks and continually escalate their scale. ... There is nary important subject logic to this, but determination is sizeable governmental meaning."
He repeated his telephone for tighter planetary economical sanctions connected Russia arsenic a mode of ending the war, due to the fact that Russia's "desire to combat indispensable beryllium deprived of resources."
Russia and Europe respond to Trump's remarks connected Putin
The Russian authorities appeared to downplay Mr. Trump's remarks astir Putin arsenic an affectional outburst, nevertheless immoderate European leaders, who person been frustrated for months by the U.S. president repeating Kremlin talking points astir the warfare and ridiculing Zelenskyy's government, seemed to instrumentality immoderate anticipation by the alteration successful tack.
At the Kremlin, Putin's main spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters connected Monday that, "the commencement of the negotiation process [with Ukraine], for which the American broadside has done a lot, is simply a precise important achievement. We are precise thankful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for assistance successful organizing and launching this dialog process. This is simply a precise important achievement. … Of course, astatine the aforesaid clip this is simply a precise important moment, which is associated, of course, with the affectional overload of everyone, absolutely, and with affectional reactions. We travel this precise closely."
French President Emmanuel Macron, however, told reporters during a sojourn to Vietnam that it seemed Mr. Trump appeared to beryllium realizing that Putin had "lied" to him astir wanting to find a diplomatic solution to the war. The French person said his anticipation was that Mr. Trump's choler astatine Moscow "translates into action," and helium called for Ukraine's planetary partners to acceptable a steadfast deadline for Moscow to hold to a ceasefire, with the menace of "massive sanctions" should Putin proceed to refuse.
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, told his country's broadcaster WDR that "Putin evidently sees offers of talks arsenic a motion of weakness," stressing the Kremlin's rejection of projected nonstop talks with Ukraine astatine the Vatican arsenic grounds that "we indispensable beryllium prepared for this warfare to past longer than we each privation oregon tin imagine."
Merz said respective of Ukraine's partners had already dropped restrictions connected allowing their subject assistance to beryllium utilized for strikes heavy wrong Russia.
"There are nary longer immoderate scope restrictions connected the weapons delivered to Ukraine. Not from the British, nor the French, nor from america … and not from the Americans either," Merz said Monday. "This means Ukraine tin present besides support itself by attacking subject targets successful Russia. For a agelong time, it couldn't bash that, and with a fewer exceptions, it didn't. We telephone this long-range fire, meaning equipping Ukraine successful specified a mode that it tin besides onslaught subject targets successful the hinterland — and that is the decisive, qualitative quality successful Ukraine's warfare: Russia is attacking civilian cities without immoderate regard, bombing cities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Ukraine does not bash that."
The European Union's apical diplomat, overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas, earlier described the latest attacks connected Kyiv arsenic "totally appalling" and said the bloc intended to enforce much sanctions connected Russia.
Mr. Trump has threatened monolithic sanctions connected Moscow, too, but truthful acold hasn't taken action.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin makes decisions that are indispensable to guarantee Russia's information and that the attacks were Moscow's effect to heavy strikes by Ukraine.
Prisoner swap provides a solitary motion of progress
Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds much prisoners Sunday successful the 3rd and past portion of a large speech that was a uncommon infinitesimal of practice betwixt the warring nations.
A surface seizure from a video shows Russian soldiers aft Russia and Ukraine connected Sunday confirmed the 3rd and last circular of a large-scale captive swap carried retired betwixt Moscow and Kyiv nether the presumption of an statement reached successful Istanbul earlier this month, successful Russia, May 25, 2025.
Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu/Getty
Russia's Defense Ministry said each broadside exchanged 303 soldiers, pursuing the merchandise of 307 combatants and civilians each connected Saturday, and 390 connected Friday — the biggest full swap of the war.
In their talks held successful Istanbul earlier this month, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of warfare and civilian detainees each. The speech has been the lone tangible result of those nonstop talks to date.
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