Ukraine War News Today - Top Stories and Breaking Updates from Kyiv Post

Trump said that he was very disappointed with Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, but gave the Russian leader another two weeks before the US responds “a little bit differently.”

US President Donald Trump said that he was “very disappointed” with Russia’s escalating attacks on Ukraine and said that he would give Putin another two weeks before deciding how to respond.

These comments came on Wednesday as the US President responded to questions from the White House Press Corps at a ceremony for the swearing-in of Jeanine Pirro as US Attorney for Washington, DC.  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and Ukraine will return to the negotiating table in Turkey on June 2 to discuss the terms of a ceasefire. Kyiv has not confirmed its attendance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday evening that Ukraine and Russia will hold a second round of talks in Istanbul on June 2.

The Russian delegation will again be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who will reportedly present the Ukrainian delegation with a memorandum on a future peace treaty.

Moscow will present its ceasefire memorandum to Kyiv only, a Russian official said, dismissing the US envoy’s claim that Washington is awaiting the proposal.

Russia said on Wednesday that only Kyiv will receive Russia’s version of a ceasefire memorandum and rejected involvement from other mediators. 

The comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova came as a direct snub to Washington’s Ukraine Envoy Keith Kellogg, who said he had already received Kyiv’s version and is now awaiting the same from Moscow.  

The Kremlin has reportedly rejected the Vatican and Geneva as possible venues for the next round of direct talks with Ukraine – Turkey’s top diplomat’s visit to Moscow might’ve played a role.

Russia is now considering a return to Istanbul for the next round of direct talks with Ukraine.

The Kremlin had earlier rejected the Vatican’s offer to host the talks, citing religious differences as the official reason.

The SBU’s long-range drones struck a key Russian cruise missile plant near Moscow, bypassing air defenses in what Russia called Kyiv’s largest UAV operation of the war.

In the early hours of Wednesday, May 28, long-range drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck a key Russian defense industry facility, the Raduga Design Bureau, Kyiv Post sources within the security agency report.

The Raduga plant, located in the city of Dubna and named after Bereznyak, lies 130 kilometers (81.25 miles) north of Moscow. It was struck by Ukrainian drones that successfully bypassed air defenses protecting the Russian capital. According to the SBU, the attack hit the plant’s assembly and equipment workshops, both of which are currently on fire.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy acknowledges arms makers’ request to export abroad, but it said the final decision rests with the military top brass after a risk assessment.

The decision to green light Ukraine’s arms exports rests with the military top brass, according to Kyiv’s trade representative on Wednesday. 

Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s trade representative and deputy economy minister, said on Wednesday that the Ministry of Economy acknowledges the local industry’s desire for exports, but he said the decision ultimately lies with the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Berlin hasn’t publicly sent long-range weapons to Ukraine, despite the German chancellor’s remarks Monday that Kyiv has been cleared to hit targets inside Russia using weapons received from the West.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday said Berlin will help Kyiv develop long-range weaponry to strike targets inside Russia.

Merz made the announcement at a joint press conference during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprise visit to Berlin.

The UN commission documented drone attacks on civilians in Kherson city and 16 other localities, geolocating videos of attacks and reviewing open sources.

Russia’s military has committed “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” in its drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson region, UN experts concluded in a report published Wednesday.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, established by the UN Human Rights Council, said Russian armed forces were “systematically” hitting civilians.

Gas transmission system operators from five countries have proposed a joint booking platform for gas transit capacity from Greece to Ukraine.

Ukraine is set to launch a new Trans-Balkan gas transportation route through Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova. This will provide alternative and competitive natural gas supplies and strengthen the region’s energy security, especially before the next heating season, Ukraineʼs Ministry of Energy reported.

Gas transmission system operators from Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova have proposed a joint booking platform for gas transit capacity from Greece to Ukraine.

Belarus is a key Russian ally and allowed its territory to be used as a staging post for Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus will scale back military drills with Russia planned for September, cutting the number of soldiers taking part and moving them away from the western border, Minsk said Wednesday.

Belarus is a key Russian ally and allowed its territory to be used as a staging post for Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The New EU SAFE program has been launched with the aim of increasing defense production capacity, closing capability gaps and ensuring support for Ukrainian military forces.

The EU Council reported on Tuesday that it has adopted legislation setting up the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument worth €150 billion ($170.4 billion), which aims to support member states investments in joint defense procurement and also to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industry.

“We have adopted the first large-scale defense investment program at the EU level worth €150 billion. This is not only a success of the presidency, but of the EU as a whole,” Adam Szłapka – Polish Minister for the EU said. “The more we invest in our security and defense, the better we deter those who wish us harm.”

An imaginary, but not unrealistic, scenario of a sudden Russian attack on one or all of the Baltic countries leaves plenty to think about – politically, militarily and humanitarianly.

No one heard the war begin. There were no tanks or armored vehicles – only drones.

There were no loud statements – only the ringing silence of morning: no lights, no communications, no navigation.

Daily updates from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) regarding frontline developments and casualty figures amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As of May 28, Russia has lost 983,980 troops after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 – including 1,050 troops over the past day, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 

The figures include all troops who are put out of action for some time due to deaths or injuries. 

Putin has reportedly said he’s ready to consider peace in Ukraine – on his terms – which includes a written guarantee that NATO won’t expand, sanctions will be lifted, and Ukraine will remain neutral.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to ending the full-scale war in Ukraine – but only if the West agrees to sweeping concessions, including halting NATO’s eastward expansion and lifting sanctions.

“Putin is ready to make peace, but not at any price,” one senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

The SUV is said to belong to an airborne staff officer from the same department on the Russian General Staff as Lt. Gen. Moskalik who was killed by a car bomb in April.

An assassination attempt may have been thwarted in Moscow, when a Russian General Staff officer’s personal vehicle was discovered vandalized with malicious graffiti and with a suspicious device attached underneath the SUV’s chassis, according to reports Tuesday.

Russian mainstream and social media sites reported on Tuesday evening that Moscow’s “bomb squad” was dealing with a suspected undercar booby trap planted beneath a white Toyota Landcruiser. The car was reportedly seen parked at a petrol station on Moscow’s Leninsky Prospekt. The SUV had been daubed a few days earlier with the word “ЧЕРТ,” which can be variously translated as “Devil” or “Crap,” in black paint.

Zelensky said Ukraine is looking at frozen Russian assets as a possible funding source and plans to raise the issue at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Canada next month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Western allies for $30 billion to help Ukraine fully ramp up its domestic weapons production and push back against Russian forces.

“I would like us to receive $30 billion in order to fully launch only Ukrainian production,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday, according to a Kyiv Post journalist.

A senior Moscow security official, Dmitry Medvedev, criticized President Trump and warned of a possible world war after Trump said Putin was “playing with fire” by rejecting Ukraine ceasefire talks.

US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, on Wednesday scolded a top Russian official for stoking fears of World War Three after Trump warned President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” over Ukraine.

As Russian forces advanced in Ukraine, Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that Putin was playing with fire and cautioned that “REALLY BAD” things would have happened already to Russia if it was not for Trump himself.

Russia launched a massive attack involving hundreds of drones and missile strikes against Ukraine as both sides neared completion of a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap.

Russia launched a massive offensive involving hundreds of drones and missile strikes against Ukraine on the weekend, while a number of Ukrainian missiles were intercepted in the Moscow region. At the same time the two warring countries completed a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap - the biggest since the war began. US President Trump criticised both President Putin as ‘absolutely crazy’ and President Zelensky, for ‘causing problems’.

This week could be decisive

Ukrainian President Zelensky says he’s ready for talks with Trump and Putin in any format or location as Kyiv awaits Moscow’s ceasefire proposal.

Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations, both on a technical level and at the level of state leaders, including the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and himself, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a closed meeting with journalists, according to Kyiv Post journalist.

Kyiv Post gathered the president’s key statements.

The large-scale drone barrage came just after Ukraine endured its most intense wave of Russian airstrikes since the start of the invasion over the weekend.

Russia said it repelled a record-breaking drone attack overnight into Wednesday, destroying nearly 300 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including near the capital. The strike forced Moscow to close its major airports temporarily.

The large-scale drone barrage came just after Ukraine endured its most intense wave of Russian airstrikes since the start of the invasion. Kyiv said Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles between Saturday and Monday, killing 13 civilians – including three children – on Sunday alone.

Under Hungary’s PM, Viktor Orban, Budapest has regularly found itself at loggerheads with the European Commission and most of its 26 fellow EU countries, becoming something of a black sheep.

Has the European Union finally run out of patience with Hungary? The mood was feisty in Brussels on Tuesday as ministers from the bloc’s member states gathered to discuss whether to turn the screws on Budapest for damaging democracy.

“We have major problems with Hungary,” Germany’s EU Minister Gunther Krichbaum summarised heading into the meeting. “My colleagues’ patience is dwindling day by day.”

Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a call where a Russian commander orders troops to kill anyone “whining” and “disrupting” military missions, vowing to make examples of those refusing to fight.

A Russian commander, supposedly serving in a higher rank, orders troops to “mercilessly wipe out” anyone disrupting mission objectives in an intercepted call released by Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) on Monday, May 26.

“Can you pass this on to the guys now? Everyone who interferes, anyone who disrupts the task with whining or any other actions – wipe them out mercilessly,” the commander barks in a harsh tone.

Kyiv Post asked State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce about the Russian response to President Trump’s criticisms and any potential policy adjustments the White House might be considering.

WASHINGTON DC – The United States said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “getting a sense of” his American counterpart’s anger “at the nature of what’s transpiring,” as State Department’s Tammy Bruce put it when describing Donald Trump’s latest broadside at Putin over stalled Ukraine peace efforts.

“I wouldn’t call it frustration,” Bruce told Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent during a daily press briefing about Trump’s latest comments on Putin.

Kyiv Post explores how this remarkable feat was carried out, what’s known about the Nemesis, and why drones like Mara and Leleka are worth risking everything to recover.

Ukrainian forces have revealed an inventive battlefield tactic: using one drone to evacuate two others.

The 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) shared a video on Facebook showing a drone – nicknamed Nemesis – rescuing two reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Leleka and Mara, from the front lines.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• The Kremlin is setting conditions to establish permanent control over the Russian-occupied Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), suggesting that Russia plans to illegally occupy and annex additional territory in Ukraine.
• Russian officials are likely leveraging the fact that Ukraine and Russia set no concrete deadlines for the next steps in the peace process in order to delay the process altogether and prolong the war.
• Putin continues to use orchestrated public engagements to forward the Kremlin’s effort to create a militarized Russian society united against the West that supports a prolonged war in Ukraine and possible future conflict with NATO.
• The European Union (EU) Council approved the first phase of the European Commission’s ReArm Europe/Readiness 2030 plan.
• Ukraine’s Western allies continue to provide military aid to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar. Russian forces recently advanced near Vovchansk, Kupyansk, and Pokrovsk.

British Ambassador to the US used his first big speech in the States to align Britain with Trump’s recent rhetoric on Russia’s “barbaric” actions in Ukraine, saying he “got it right over the weekend.”

WASHINGTON DC – On Tuesday, the British ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, used his first big speech in Washington to align his country closely with President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, while pointing out Putin’s disrespect for the US president.

Speaking before an audience at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank, Lord Mandelson sharply criticized Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s “barbaric” actions in Ukraine, saying that US President Donald Trump “got it right over the weekend” when he called Putin “crazy.”

Moscow claims that the newly deployed “Banderol” missile is capable of reaching ranges of 700 kilometers. Ukrainian forces assess the new threat.

A spokesperson from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on Tuesday said the newest threat from Russia is the “Banderol” missile, with a long range and rather high speed: anywhere between 480 to 680 kilometers per hour.

 “This is a high-explosive munition,” Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces said Tuesday on Ukrainian television.