Closing summary
Moscow launched its third consecutive night of massive drone strikes against Ukraine overnight into Monday, with Russia firing a record 355 Shahed drones as well as nine cruise missiles.
Russia’s attack came despite Donald Trump’s warning on Sunday night that if Vladimir Putin attempts to conquer all of Ukraine it will lead to the “downfall” of Russia. In the same post, the US president said Putin was “absolutely CRAZY” after a weekend of deadly Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.
In a toughening up of his language, which puts him more in line with the EU’s position, Trump said he was seriously considering imposing “more sanctions on Russia” following the attacks.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the increase in Russian strikes should be met with “increased sanctions”, adding that Moscow’s dismissal of the US-proposed 30 day ceasefire should lead to a “freeze on Russian finances and a halt to its oil trade”.
The European Union has rejected a Russian request for consultations on its carbon border adjustment package, a World Trade Organization document showed on Monday, citing Russia’s “war of aggression” against Ukraine as the reason.
Moscow defended its latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine as a reaction to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian infrastructure and military targets.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he thinks Trump is realising Putin had lied to him (about his intentions for peace) and he hoped his anger “translates into action”.
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has confirmed that western countries allied to Ukraine are no longer imposing range limits on arms delivered to Kyiv.
Russia has now said European countries lifting any restrictions on capabilities for Ukraine would be a dangerous move, according to Reuters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a decision would run counter to aspirations for a political settlement to the crisis.
A top Kremlin official on Monday scoffed at a report that Russia could be involved in recent arson attacks on the private home of British prime minister Keir Starmer, a building where he once lived and a car that he had owned.
Zelenskyy will reportedly visit Berlin on Wednesday, where he will meet with Merz and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
You can read our latest story about developments in Ukraine here.
The European Union has rejected a Russian request for consultations on its carbon border adjustment package, a World Trade Organization document showed on Monday, citing Russia’s “war of aggression” against Ukraine as the reason.
Russia requested consultations with the EU over its carbon border levy earlier this month at the WTO – the first step in a dispute before formal proceedings begin.
“The European Union is of the view that the consultations requested by the Russian Federation cannot be fruitful and cannot lead to a mutually satisfactory solution of (the) matter at hand,” an EU document submitted to the WTO on 26 May read.
A top Kremlin official on Monday scoffed at a report that Russia could be involved in recent arson attacks on the private home of British prime minister Keir Starmer, a building where he once lived and a car that he had owned.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was responding to a Financial Times report that said UK security officials were looking into whether Russia was involved in the attacks.
The Associated Press was not been able to independently confirm the FT report that relied on unnamed senior UK government figures. But Peskov, who the London-based paper said did not respond to a request when it published the story Friday, was asked about the report at his regular press briefing Monday.
“London tends to suspect Russia of anything bad that happens in the UK,” Peskov said. “As a rule, all these suspicions are groundless, unsubstantiated and often laughable.”
No one was injured in the fires that occurred on three nights between 8 May and 12 May in north London, authorities said.
Three men with ties to Ukraine face arson charges and are being held without bail before a hearing 6 June in London’s Central Criminal Court.
A prosecutor said there was no explanation for the crimes and no official has publicly said Moscow is behind the fires.
Ukrainian firefighters and rescuers work at the site of a damaged storage facility of a private factory following an overnight attack in Vasyshcheve, near Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Giving Ukraine long range missiles' a dangerous move', Kremlin says
A response now from the Kremlin to Germany chancellor’s Friedrich Merz’s comments on Ukraine’s military capabilities.
We reported earlier that Merz said Ukraine now has long-range fire to target military infrastructure in Russia.
Russia has now said European countries lifting any restrictions on capabilities for Ukraine would be a dangerous move, according to Reuters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a decision would run counter to aspirations for a political settlement to the crisis.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
Moscow launched its third consecutive night of massive drone strikes against Ukraine overnight into Monday, with Russia firing a record 355 Shahed drones as well as nine cruise missiles.
Russia’s attack came despite Donald Trump’s warning on Sunday night that if Vladimir Putin attempts to conquer all of Ukraine it will lead to the “downfall” of Russia. In the same post, the US president said Putin was “absolutely CRAZY” after a weekend of deadly Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.
In a toughening up of his language, which puts him more in line with the EU’s position, Trump said he was seriously considering imposing “more sanctions on Russia” following the attacks.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the increase in Russian strikes should be met with “increased sanctions”, adding that Moscow’s dismissal of the US-proposed 30 day ceasefire should lead to a “freeze on Russian finances and a halt to its oil trade”.
Moscow defended its latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine as a reaction to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian infrastructure and military targets.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he thinks Trump is realising Putin had lied to him (about his intentions for peace) and he hoped his anger “translates into action”.
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has confirmed that western countries allied to Ukraine are no longer imposing range limits on arms delivered to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy will reportedly visit Berlin on Wednesday, where he will meet with Merz and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
You can read our latest story about developments in Ukraine here.
Updated
Merz says key western allies no longer imposing range limits on Ukraine arms
Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz has confirmed that western countries allied to Ukraine are no longer imposing range limits on arms delivered to Kyiv.
“There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the UK, France, nor us. There are no restrictions by the US either,” Merz was quoted by the Kyiv Independent as having said during a discussion forum organized by the WDR channel.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia,” the chancellor added. “Until recently, it couldn’t do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn’t done so either.”
Last April, Ukraine used longer-range ballistic missiles called Army Tactical Missile System (Atcams) - supplied by Joe Biden administration - for the first time after Washington gave the green light to do so.
There had been hesitation to approve such use amid fears of an escalation of the conflict.
Ukraine has previously received long-range missiles from Washington, London and Paris but Kyiv was initially only allowed to use them against Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Updated
My colleagues Peter Beaumont and Pjotr Sauer have filed a report about Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukraine and the diplomatic reaction to the assaults. Here is an extract from their piece:
Russia has massively scaled up its domestic production of drones such as the Shahed, meaning it is no longer reliant upon Iran for its supply as it was when the weapons were first deployed even as it has developed sophisticated new tactics for their use, making them an increasingly potent weapon.
Analysts are split, however, whether the heavy bombing of Ukrainian cities is a tactic in its own right, to demoralise the Ukrainian home front, or is part of a wider push on the battlefield going into the summer amid Ukrainian and western intelligence assessments that Russia intends to continue fighting through this year.
Updated
The Netherlands will send the last one of 24 promised F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine on Monday, defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said on Sunday on a Dutch television talkshow.
The first 23 Dutch F-16 jets were delivered from last summer. The Netherlands has also provided fighter jets to a training centre in Romania for Ukrainian pilots and crew.
The F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has received from its western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion have been the frontline combat planes of choice for the Nato alliance for 50 years.
Analysts say the F-16s enhance Ukraine’s military strength, especially by upgrading its air defences and enabling it to hit distant targets with sophisticated weaponry.
Updated
Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine over the weekend proved that Moscow is not interested in peace, Reuters reports.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday
Reuters reports that, despite the chancellery in Germnay declining to comment, several sources have confirmed to it that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday.
It was first reported by news outlet Spiegel, who said Zelenskyy would meet with chancellor Friedrich Merz and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Emmanuel Macron said Monday he hopes Donald Trump’s anger at Moscow “translates into action”.
Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, AFP reports the French president said:
President Trump realises that when President Putin said on the phone he was ready for peace, or told his envoys he was ready for peace, he lied. We have seen once again in recent hours Donald Trump express his anger. A form of impatience. I simply hope now that this translates into action.
In a post to social media yesterday, the US president said Vladimir Putin had gone “crazy” and that an attempt to conquer all of Ukraine “will lead to the downfall of Russia!”.
The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a 30-day ceasefire from Kyiv and its western allies, but the unwillingness of the Trump administration to press ahead with wider sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine has been the subject of some dismay in European capitals.
Reuters has a quick snap, citing Der Spiegel, that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on Wednesday.
Macron says Trump realises Putin has 'lied' about Ukraine and wants his new rhetoric to 'translate into action'
French president Emmanuel Macron, who is on a diplomatic trip to Vietnam, has been asked about Russia’s continuing attacks.
He said he thinks Donald Trump is realising aspects of Vladimir Putin’s lies regarding Ukraine, adding that he hopes the US president’s anger at Putin will “translate into action” (presumably meaning sanctions, along with the EU).
We will give you more comments as they come in.
Updated
Last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory. He cited reporting by Ukrainian security and intelligence agencies.
China dismissed the accusations as “groundless” in response, with the country’s foreign minister saying Beijing has been trying to push for a ceasefire in the war and have been promoting peace talks.
As my colleague Dan Sabbagh notes in this story, Russia makes heavy use of Chinese-made components in its arms industry, and Ukraine does so to some extent.
Both sides make significant use of Mavic drones from the Chinese manufacturer DJI, though Kyiv is trying to reduce its dependence on products from Beijing.
In February 2022, China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership when Vladimir Putin visited Beijing to meet Xi Jinping shortly before he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
China supplying equipment to Russia, Ukraine says
Ukraine has said that China is supplying a range of important products to Russian military plants, the chief of Ukrainian foreign intelligence told Ukrinform news agency.
Oleh Ivashchenko said:
There is information that China is delivering machines, special chemicals, gunpowder, and components specifically to military-purpose enterprises. We have confirmed data on 20 Russian factories.
Here is a snippet of the Ukrinform report, which we have not yet independently verified.
According to Ivashchenko, at least five instances of “aviation-related cooperation” with China were recorded in 2024–2025, involving equipment, spare parts, and documentation. Additionally, six major shipments of special chemicals were identified.
The intelligence chief also noted that as of early 2025, 80% of critical electronics used in Russian drones originate from China. This includes cases of mislabeled items, deceptive product naming, and the use of shell companies to smuggle necessary components for microelectronics production from China into Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier today that air defence systems had downed 96 Ukrainian drones, including six over the Moscow region.
Moscow’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports temporarily halted flights, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
Moscow claims latest aerial assaults on Ukraine are 'a response strike' to Kyiv's attacks
Dmitry Peskov said the latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine – the heaviest recorded so far in the war - are in reaction to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian infrastructure.
“We have seen how the Ukrainians have been hitting our social infrastructure, peaceful infrastructure. This is a response strike. It’s a strike against military facilities, military targets,” the Kremlin spokesperson has been quoted by BBC News as having said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has held his regular media briefing with journalists. When asked for reaction to Donald Trump’s criticism of Vladimir Putin (see post at 08.41) by the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, Peskov thanked the US for its role in trying to bring an end to the war through its mediation efforts, which have so far faltered, but suggested Russian strikes against Ukraine are being launched for security and self-defence. He said in the conference call with reporters:
It’s a very important achievement. Of course, at the same time this is a very important moment which is connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved and emotional reactions.
We carefully monitor all the reactions. However, President Putin takes those decisions which are necessary for the security of our country.
We all witnessed how the Kyiv regime threatened foreign leaders before they came to Moscow to commemorate Victory Day. Everyone heard these threats by the Kyiv regime.
And many leaders who were here witnessed attempts by the Kyiv regime to strike Russian territory with drones, large cities, even the capital, on the eve of such an important day. These attempts continue. We are forced to take measures and President Putin does what is necessary to provide security for Russia.
Russia should be hit with a freeze on its finances and increased sanctions in response to continuing strikes - Zelenskyy
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared a social media post after the record drone attack on Ukraine last night that was launched by Russia despite mounting international pressure for a halt in hostilities.
He said in a post on X that 355 attack UAVs were launched last night, along with nine cruise missiles, which damaged “civilian infrastructure” and injured people.
The attacks stretched from the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine to the Khmelnytskyi region in the west, and from the north-eastern region of Kharkiv to the southwestern Odesa region, Zelenskyy said.
He continued:
Only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale. There is no real military logic to this, but there is significant political meaning.
In doing this, Putin shows just how much he despises the world - the world that spends more effort on “dialogue” with him than on real pressure. Like any criminal, Russia can only be constrained by force.
Only through strength – the strength of the United States, of Europe, of all nations that value life - can these attacks be stopped and real peace achieved.
The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions. Russia’s disregard for diplomacy and refusal even to consider a ceasefire must be met with a freeze on Russian finances and a halt to its oil trade.
In his comments to German news programme Tagesschau, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul made reference to the major prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia that concluded yesterday (the exchange was agreed during talks in Istanbul just over a week ago). Here is some more detail on the swap:
Ukraine and Russia on Sunday completed a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap after three days of exchanges.
Russia’s defence ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers yesterday, following the release of 307 combatants and civilians each on Saturday, and 390 on Friday - the biggest total swap of the war.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of PoWs said those released included 70 men who had been involved in the defence of Mariupol during the Russian siege in 2022.
Putin doesn't want peace, German minister says, as he backs new sanctions against Russia
Kate Connolly is the Guardian’s Berlin correspondent
Germany’s new foreign minister Johann Wadephul has said his country backs new sanctions against Russia in response to the latest barrage of attacks on Ukraine in which 12 people died, amounting to the worst since the full-scale invasion began, according to Kyiv.
“You can see that Putin doesn’t want peace,” Wadephul told German news programme Tagesschau. Wadephul said that European partners “must respond decisively” against Russian aggression, which showed no signs of abating.
“The international community cannot tolerate this,” and Russian president Vladimir Putin is “trampling on human rights”. He added that this was also an “affront to US president Donald Trump, who tried to bring the Kremlin chief to the negotiating table,” using language which Berlin will be hoping Washington might pick up on.
“And now, this reaction. You can see that Putin doesn’t want peace, he wants to continue the war, and we cannot allow him to do that,” Wadephul said.
A further set of sanctions were already being prepared by European partners, he said. “There will be a clear reaction from the west, and I think also from the United States of America,” the effects of which he said would be “financially painful for Russia”.
He called the recent prisoner-exchange swap, the largest to date, a “very small but welcome” step.
Discussions would continue to take place on what a ceasefire might look like, and Germany continued to be supportive of Trump’s initiative in this direction, he stressed.
Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed Ukraine ceasefire deal last Monday, which the US president said had gone “very well” .
Trump said after the call that Russia and Ukraine would immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire, but the Kremlin said the process would take time and the US president indicated he was not ready to join Europe with fresh sanctions to pressure Moscow.
European leaders, however, decided to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions after Trump briefed them on his call with the Russian leader, who appears unwilling to budge from his maximalist positions.
Putin has only said that Moscow would work with Kyiv to craft a “memorandum” on a “possible future peace”. He has declined to support the US-proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine has publicly agreed to.
'What the hell happened to him?': Trump rebukes Putin after recent Ukraine attacks – video
Here is a video of US President Donald Trump saying he was seriously considering “putting more sanctions on Russia” following heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine in recent days.
Russia's overnight attack was largest drone assault of war so far, Ukrainian air force says
Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine was the largest drone assault since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s air force said on Monday.
Russia launched 355 drones and nine cruise missiles against Ukraine since Sunday evening, against the previous record of 298 drones and 69 missiles which were launched by Russia on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The air force said all missiles launched last night were shot down, while 288 UAVs and drones were “neutralised”.
Updated
The Guardian’s senior international correspondent, Peter Beaumont, has written some analysis on the state of the war as Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine and ignores calls for a ceasefire. Here is an extract from his piece:
Ukrainian and western officials anticipate that Russia will once again attempt a large-scale offensive during the summer, even if they are highly sceptical that it will be effective given Moscow’s punishing losses.
The reality is that with deadlock on the ground, the escalating long-range drone war on both sides is becoming ever more significant, even if it cannot conquer territory.
As it has become ever larger, with Russian and Ukrainian factories turning out thousands of new drones, it has become more sophisticated with Moscow’s employment of big numbers of decoys and systems designed to fool air defence systems.
While Ukraine has targeted bases and factories, including those producing fibre optic cable for a new generation of small combat zones, the purpose on Russia’s side appears aimed solely at undermining morale on the home front. In recent days, drones and missiles have hit apartment blocks, homes and a student dormitory.
As we mentioned in the opening post, Ukrainian officials reported Russian strikes overnight to Monday, but not on the same scale as those that struck Ukraine across the weekend.
Two people were injured and a house was destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region when “the enemy struck the village of Yurkivka”, Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the region, said in a Telegram post on Monday.
Kyiv and Odesa were among the other areas to have been targeted overnight. There were no immediate reports of casualties in either location.
Updated
Russian attacks continue on Ukraine despite Trump's criticism of Putin
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Kyiv has been attacked by Russian drones for a third night in a row despite Donald Trump warning that if Vladimir Putin attempts to conquer all of Ukraine it will lead to the “downfall” of Russia.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” the US president wrote in a social media post yesterday, adding, “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
Trump also criticised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he has an uneasy relationship with, posting that he “is doing his Country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
In separate comments to reporters on Sunday night, Trump said:
I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.
Asked if he was considering more sanctions on Russia, something the EU is pushing for but Washington has so far been reluctant to back, Trump said: “Absolutely.”
Trump’s comments came after Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine overnight into Sunday, with the highest number of drones and missiles launched in a single night since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday morning that Russia had attacked the country with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight from Saturday. It said it downed 45 missiles and 266 drones.
Zelenskyy called for fresh sanctions on Russia after the attack and said “silence” from the US and “others around the world” was encouraging Vladimir Putin’s intensifying assault.
On Sunday night, attacks from Moscow continued, though they were reported to be less widespread. A series of fires were reported in private households across the Odesa region following Russian drone strikes.
Ukraine’s air force reported incursions by drones and UAVs overnight, but said the threat had been successfully repelled for all regions by the early morning.
Meanwhile, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Timur Tkachenko, said that Russian strikes caused damage in the Dnipro district of the Ukrainian capital, in what was the third consecutive night of attacks on the city.
“Windows were broken in one of the residential buildings. Also, falling debris was recorded on the territory of a garage cooperative and a recreation facility,” Tkachenko said, but confirmed there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Updated
