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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 05-26-2025 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
The transfer of six more airframes on Monday completes the Netherlands’ pledge of 24 F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense confirmed on Monday that the final batch of six F-16 fighters promised to Kyiv has left the Netherlands on its way to Ukraine.
The Netherlands has been a key ally of Ukraine and an early advocate for Ukraine to receive fighter jets from the West. In May 2023, former US President Joe Biden agreed to allow the Netherlands and other European countries to begin training Ukrainian pilots and to transfer F-16s to Ukraine.
Jonathan Andrew Pebley, callsign “Mayhem” was reportedly killed by a Russian drone strike while fighting for Ukraine’s Main Military Directorate (HUR).
Jonathan Andrew Pebley, callsign “Mayhem,” was killed by a Russian drone strike while fighting in Ukraine, according to a social media post from American military expert and vlogger Chris Capelluto.
“I’ve just been informed Mahyem is KIA in Ukraine. He died trying to save two of his buddies,” said Capelluto, who had interviewed Pebley earlier this year for his YouTube channel.
The Kremlin said the West’s reported approval of Kyiv’s strikes inside Russia, if true, is “at odds” with Moscow’s peace efforts, after it previously rejected ceasefires.
The Kremlin slammed the West for reportedly lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to strike inside Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the decision, if true, is “completely at odds” with the Kremlin’s purported “aspirations for a political (peace) settlement.”
Both leaders have reiterated their doubts about Moscow’s willingness to negotiate after the latter repeatedly rejected a proposed ceasefire – and ceasefire talks to be hosted by the Vatican.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have both cast doubt on Moscow’s sincerity in peace talks in their respective comments on Monday.
The remarks came after Moscow repeatedly rejected the West’s call for a ceasefire and conducted large-scale aerial strikes across Ukraine over the weekend that prompted US President Donald Trump to say that his Russian counterpart “has gone absolutely CRAZY.”
The German chancellor said a similar decision has also been made by the US, UK and France, which would allow Kyiv to strike targets inside Russia using Western long-range weaponry.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said there are no more restrictions on Kyiv using Western long-range weaponry against targets inside Russia.
Merz’s comments came after Russia launched large-scale aerial strikes across Ukraine three nights in a row.
Ukrainian intelligence has derided Aleksandr Lukashenko’s assertion that Russia has entrusted him with nuclear warheads and Oreshnik missiles or that he possesses deployable combat forces.
The head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleh Ivashchenko, stated that Belarus hosts only carriers capable of delivering nuclear weapons, but no actual warheads are present – nor are does it hold any “Oreshnik” medium-range ballistic missile systems.
“There are carriers. That’s true. There are aircraft and Iskander short-range ballistic missiles. But there are no nuclear weapons in Belarus. That’s a fact,” he said.
Ukraine’s president Zelensky voiced his judgement of Russia’s leader after Moscow’s overnight aerial assault, the largest drone and missile barrage since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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.
Covers purporting to represent the popular French publication and mocking Zelensky have been making the rounds on social media, including on messaging app Telegram as well as X.
French weekly Charlie Hebdo said on Monday it had gone to court over fake covers of the satirical magazine, in an effort to defend its image and identify the authors of the apparently pro-Russian “propaganda”.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, Russia has deployed a highly organised information warfare campaign to garner support for its war.
However, the Ukrainian military has already dismissed the claim about Telegram-controlled drones with sarcasm.
Russia is intensifying its aerial war against Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated drones and a massive stockpile of ballistic missiles.
On May 25, Russia launched what analysts say may be its largest single-day strike since the beginning of the full-scale war: 298 drones and 69 missiles targeted Ukrainian cities in what the Kremlin labeled a “massive strike.” Ukrainian officials described it as the most intense attack since February 2022.
The comments from Trump’s Ukraine envoy came after Russia launched large-scale drone strikes on Ukraine two nights in a row and before the US president called the attacks “needless.”
Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine, decried Russian attacks on Ukraine over the weekend as “shameful,” calling it “indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes.”
Kellogg’s comments on Sunday came after Russia rained down hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on Ukraine two nights in a row. Another attack ensued after Kellogg’s comments.
Chechen exiles say they are unfairly associated with religious extremism.
Austria is deporting Chechen asylum seekers on security grounds back to Russia, where they risk being forcibly recruited to fight in the Ukraine war, court documents seen by AFP show.
Authorities say they pose a “state security” threat but rights groups say their deportation is a violation of international law.
As Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on, many in Europe now see it not just as a military conflict - but a broader assault on Western values.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is increasingly perceived not just as a military conflict, but as a battle against the Western way of life as a whole. A glance at Europe’s media reveals that at many different levels the question of how to deal with direct and indirect Russian influence is being posed.
Political campaigns disguised as promotion of culture
Explosions rocked multiple Russian regions overnight as drones allegedly targeted a Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan and a missile-linked chemical plant in Ivanovo, over 1,000 km from Ukraine.
Explosions were heard overnight across several regions of Russia. Residents reported strikes on facilities in Tatarstan and Ivanovo region – specifically, a drone manufacturing plant and a chemical factory.
Moscow’s tensions were also reportedly high in the Tula region, home to a key defense enterprise where Kyiv’s drones were allegedly flying.
For months news headlines have been full of hope for peace after more than three years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, it’s timely to take stock of where we’re we at in finding a solution to end it.
Given that Ukraine peace talks appear to have reached something of an impasse, I thought it perhaps useful to map out what all the main parties want at this stage - what are their objectives with regards to the war in Ukraine, and peace talks.
Anyone’s fault other than Moscow’s
Negotiating with Russia to end the war is a mirage as long as Vladimir Putin is in power. All we can hope for is using Russian ‘’good will’’ to get back the prisoners of war and the children.
Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator in Istanbul talks, supposedly said to the Ukrainian delegation: “We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight? We’re prepared to fight forever.”
Indeed, waging the eternal war on Ukraine seems to be what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants when we look past the diplomatic pleasantries and mind games. Putin, blinded by his anti-Ukrainian obsession, is unable to stop the war, even though he knows the war is destroying Russia as well.
Germany’s Chief of Defense has ordered the German military to be fully equipped with weapons and other material by 2029.
Germany’s Chief of Defense, Carsten Breuer, has ordered the German military to be fully equipped with weapons and other material by 2029, a document seen by Reuters on Sunday shows.
By 2029, Russia may have reconstituted its forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory, according to estimates by Breuer and other senior military officials at NATO.
What’s happened over the weekend as Russia ignores ceasefire calls and intensifies attacks on Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “crazy” on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine, even as the warring countries completed a large-scale prisoner exchange.
At least 13 people were killed when Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine overnight to Sunday.
For the third sleepless night in a row, Ukrainians faced massive Russian drone and missile attacks, hitting multiple regions, causing destruction and injuries across the country.
Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine – for the third night in a row – using kamikaze drones and cruise missiles, targeting multiple regions in the south, east, and north of the country, during the predawn hours on Monday.
In Odesa region, drone strikes caused fires and damaged private homes. According to the State Emergency Service, a residential building in Odesa district was destroyed in the area of 100 square meters, followed by a fire, and rescuers quickly extinguished the fire.
In a Truth Social post, Trump says Putin “has gone absolutely crazy,” slams Zelensky’s rhetoric, and insists the war “would never have started” under his presidency.
US President Donald Trump launched a sweeping condemnation of the ongoing war in Ukraine, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has gone absolutely crazy,” while also chastising Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s tone, asserting that he is “doing his country no favors.”
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote:
Ukraine’s military intelligence says its drone operators struck a Russian military fuel train in occupied Zaporizhzhia, while another struck an explosive device in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has reported a successful drone strike on a Russian military train carrying fuel in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
“Railway roar – HUR soldiers crushed the military train of the occupiers,” read the caption accompanying a video shared by the agency.
Fidan is expected to meet with Putin of Russia, Russian Defense Minister Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation during talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 16.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is scheduled to visit Russia on May 26-27, where he plans to discuss the negotiation process in the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkey’s mediating role, and efforts toward achieving a just and lasting peace.
Fidan is expected to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the visit, Ukrinform reports, citing Bloomberg.
State premier of the eastern region of Saxony described the pipeline as “a possible opening for a conversation with Russia”.
A senior member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party called Sunday for talks with Russia over a possible relaunch of the controversial Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Michael Kretschmer, state premier of the eastern region of Saxony, described the pipeline as “a possible opening for a conversation with Russia”.
Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.
Key Takeaways from the ISW:
US President and Republican lawmakers vow sanctions as realization grows that the Russian leader is the biggest obstacle to peace.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he’s “not happy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin killing people in Ukraine and he’s “absolutely” considering more sanctions, Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent reports.
“He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump said when asked by reporters for an update on Russia’s latest attacks in Ukraine.
After the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap with Russia, questions remain about detainees from the Azov brigade, and those branded as political prisoners who have been held captive since 2014
The deputy head of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War told journalists on Sunday that Moscow wrongly excluded a number of Ukrainian prisoners eligible for the 1,000-for-1,000 over the weekend with the Russian side.
Andrii Yusov said that the exchange, agreed upon at peace talks in Turkey earlier this month, was based on mutual lists: The Russian side determined whom it was ready to hand over to Ukraine, and vice-versa.
After welcoming more than 170,000 Ukrainians fleeing war, the US now has a responsibility to provide stability, not uncertainty, a policy advocate tells Kyiv Post.
WASHINGTON DC – A bipartisan group of US lawmakers led by Bill Keating (D-MA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is urging the administration of President Donald Trump to bring stability to the lives of Ukrainians who reside in the US on humanitarian parole.
The move comes amid recent reports that the Trump administration wants to use $250 million from the foreign aid budget to launch a program for “voluntary deportation” of migrants, which could apply to more than 100,000 Ukrainians.
After Russian attacks kill 13 civilians, European leaders call it an “affront to Trump’s” peace effort, and vow to impose yet another round of sanctions that will be “financially painful” for Moscow.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called Sunday for “the strongest international pressure” on Russia, after a new night of air strikes on Ukraine killed 13 people including children.
“Last night’s attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine. Devastating to see children among innocent victims harmed and killed... We need the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy wrote on social media.
