Ukraine’s Second Night of a Killing-Scale Ruling-Like Drone-and-Misile War and Its Implications for the Security of the Fourth Ukrainian Independence Day
KYIV, Ukraine — A massive Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions in the country for a second consecutive night, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens, officials said early Sunday.
“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel on Saturday. Russia’s defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.
The ongoing POW exchange, the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians so far did not bring a halt in the fighting.
In the 1,000 kilometer front line, tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed and neither the country nor the other has relented.
The scale of the onslaught was stunning — Russia hit Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles, making this the largest single attack of the more than three-years-long war, according to Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force.
The city observes a holiday called Kyiv Day, a national holiday that falls on the last Sunday of May and commemorates its founding in the 5th century.
Despite warnings from the United States and Europe, the Ukrainian leader did not give up his demand to deter Russia.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that Sunday’s targets included Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help,” Zelenskyy said. “Determination matters now — the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world who seek peace.”
The attacks came as Russia and Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange, but it was only a flicker of good news in the war. After a phone call between Trump and Putin, there was no apparent sign of progress in securing a ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, proposed by the U.S., but Putin rejected it.
In the region of Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, three children were killed, aged 8, 12 and 17, according to the emergency service. Twelve were injured in the attacks, the service said. There are four people killed in the Khmelnytskyi region. One man was killed in Mykolaiv region, in southern Ukraine.
In Markhalivka, where many homes were burned down in overnight strikes, the Fedorenko’s watched their ruined home in tears.
“The street looks like Bakhmut, like Mariupol, it’s just terrible,” says 76-year-old Liubov Fedorenko, comparing their village to some of Ukraine’s most devastated cities in the war. She told the AP how grateful she was her daughter had not joined them for the weekend with her family.
“I told my daughter that she could live on the ground floor if she came to us,” Fedorenko said.
“She said, ‘No, mum, I’m not coming.’ She didn’t come because of the rocket hitting the house on the side where the children’s rooms were.
Ivan Fedorenko, 80, said he regrets letting their two dogs into the house after the air raid siren went off. He said they burned to death. “I want to bury them, but I’m not allowed yet.”
Putin and the United States in a Cold War: What has Putin Done lately? “What the hell happened to Putin?” Putin tweeted on Sunday
Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers the previous day, on Saturday, a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Once completed, the swap will amount to the largest exchange of prisoners in more than three years of war.
On Sunday evening, President Putin unleashed a series of missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, despite the efforts of the UN to reach a peaceful solution to the war.
Trump wrote on social media that he thinks Putin has more ambitions. Trump wrote that he’s always said he wants all ofUkraine, not just a piece of it. “If he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
“We are thankful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organizing and launching the negotiation process,” said Peskov when queried about the remarks. This is a very crucial moment because it’s associated with the emotional overload of everyone and with emotional reactions.
Trump told reporters Sunday that Putin is killing a lot of people. “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump said. I’ve known him for a long time but he’s killing people with rockets into cities and I don’t like that at all.
