Russia launched its largest drone barrage on Ukraine just hours after Donald Trump attacked Vladimir Putin by calling him ‘crazy” for the attacks. The US president expressed his concerns on Truth Social, stating, “Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely crazy. He is needlessly killing a lot of people.”
At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in Ukraine during the night between Saturday and Sunday, as Russia fired 367 drones and missiles in what marked the largest combined aerial attack since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Following this, between Sunday evening and Monday morning, Russia launched an additional 355 drones and nine cruise missiles against Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s air force, which noted this as the largest drone-only attack to date.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that “only a sense of total impunity” could allow Russia to “carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale.” Sirens warning of incoming drones and missiles sounded across various regions of Ukraine early on Monday, with several reports of casualties emerging from regional authorities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Trump’s comments, calling them a “very important moment… connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved,” while asserting that the Russian president was making decisions “necessary for the security” of Russia. Peskov also stated that the latest aerial assaults were a reaction to Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s “social infrastructure.”
In a conversation with reporters in New Jersey late on Sunday, Trump elaborated on his views about Putin: “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.” When asked about the possibility of increasing US sanctions on Russia, Trump responded, “Absolutely.” Although he has previously threatened to impose restrictions, no measures have yet been taken against Moscow.
Trump later reiterated his “crazy” remark on Truth Social, adding, “I’ve always said that he wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” However, he also criticized Zelensky, stating that the Ukrainian president was “doing his country no favours by talking the way he does.” Trump emphasized, “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
Despite Kyiv’s European allies preparing further sanctions for Russia, the US has indicated it will either continue attempting to broker peace talks or “walk away” if progress does not occur. Peskov remarked that Russia was “truly grateful” to the Americans and “personally to President Trump” for their assistance in organizing and initiating negotiation processes.
Last week, Trump and Putin held a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed ceasefire deal aimed at halting the fighting. Trump claimed the call went “very well,” expressing optimism that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start” negotiations toward a ceasefire and “an end to the war.” Ukraine has publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has only stated that Russia will work with Ukraine to develop a “memorandum” on a “possible future peace,” which Kyiv and its European allies view as a delaying tactic.
The first direct Ukrainian-Russian talks since 2022 took place on 16 May in Istanbul, Turkey. Aside from a significant prisoner of war swap last week, little progress has been made toward achieving a pause in fighting. Currently, Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, the southern peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.