After 1,000+ Strikes Over Weekend, Russia Claims Ukraine Sabotaging Peace Talks

Moscow on Tuesday accused Kyiv of escalating air attacks to sabotage peace talks – just a day after launching what Ukraine says was the largest aerial bombardment of the war.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its strikes were merely a “response” to Ukrainian drone attacks, blaming Kyiv and its European backers for undermining negotiations that, according to Moscow, it is eager to advance.

“Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Kremlin said in a statement. It added that the Russian army was striking Ukraine “in response to mass Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian regions.”

Over the long weekend, Russia fired roughly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine between Friday and Monday, killing at least 13 civilians, including three children from the same family in Zhytomyr.

Ukraine called it the most intense wave of attacks since the war began in 2022. Based on official reports from Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched a total of 995 drones and missiles at Ukraine over the weekend. On the night of May 24, 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles were launched. That number increased on May 25 to 298 drones and 69 missiles of various types, followed by 355 drones and nine cruise missiles on May 26.

Despite this, the Kremlin insisted it only targeted military objectives. “Our strikes are focused solely on military targets,” the statement reads. Yet the attack on Sunday in Zhytomyr killed civilians – a detail the statement glossed over.

Other Topics of Interest

Ukraine Hits Russian Warplanes in Hangars at Crimea’s Saky Air Base

Ukraine’s SBU said it hit fighter aircraft stored in unprotected hangars at Crimean military airbase as part of 40-day “influence operation” campaign.

Moscow also claimed that since May 20, Ukraine has launched 1,465 drones into Russian territory, injuring “Russian civilians, including women and children.” The Kremlin warned it would continue strikes “in response to any terrorist attacks or provocations by Kyiv.”

Following Russia’s unprecedented three-day bombardment of Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said that Putin “has gone absolutely crazy” and is now ‘seriously considering’ lifting all Biden-era restrictions on Ukraine’s war effort.

“All the previously imposed restrictions – whether already eased or not – are currently under review as President [Trump] believes that the current status quo does not serve our common interests of bringing Russia to the [negotiation] table,” one senior Western official told Kyiv Post.

The possible relaxation of Western-imposed restrictions on Ukraine’s employment of long-range weaponry represents a shift in the operational and strategic landscape of the war, the military analyst Jorge Rivero told Kyiv Post.