‘Putin Despises the World’ - Russia Launches Record Drone Assault on Ukraine

Russia launched its largest drone assault since the start of the full-scale invasion on the night of May 25-26, deploying an unprecedented number of UAVs and cruise missiles across Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Air Force (UAF).

The barrage started at around 8:15 p.m. on May 25, during which Moscow used a total of 364 air-attack weapons in a massive, combined strike. That included nine Kh-101 cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers as well 355 Shahed-type attack UAV and decoy drones.

The UAF reported that air defenses – comprising aviation units, missile forces, electronic warfare systems, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups – engaged and repelled the attack.

Preliminary data at 11 a.m. on Monday indicated that all nine Kh-101 cruise missiles were intercepted, along with 288 drones, which were neutralized across all areas of Ukraine. Of those drones, 233 were shot down, and 55 were jammed or suppressed by the use of electronic warfare (EW) systems.

However, strikes were recorded in five regions, with drone debris falling in at least 10 separate locations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the scale of the attack and said it marked the highest number of drones used against his country in a single night since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

“The geography of tonight’s strike ranged from Chernihiv to Khmelnytsky, from Kharkiv to Odesa,” he reported via Telegram. “This was already the third night of combined Russian terror – strike drones and missiles.”

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Zelensky said that such attacks were less about military objectives and more about political messaging: “This does not make any significant military sense, but there is substantial political meaning. Thus, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin demonstrates how much he despises the world, which spends more effort on ‘dialogue’ with him than on pressure.”

He argued that only pressure and force – not talks – can stop Russia.

“The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions. Russia’s disregard for diplomacy and refusal to even accept a ceasefire should be met with a blockade of Russian finances and trade in Russian oil,” he wrote.

“Russia must end this war of its own. And for this to happen, it is necessary to remove their desire to fight [through loss] of resources.”

In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that Russian forces used an FPV drone armed with a warhead based on a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher – marking the first confirmed use of such a device in the city since the full-scale invasion began.

“This is a new, even more insidious threat, indicating an attempt to find vulnerable spots in the city’s defenses,” he wrote on Telegram.

The attack marked the third consecutive night of massive Russian strikes targeting cities and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.