A building in Kyiv, Ukraine damaged by a Russian strike, May 25, 2025

EA on WION: Russia’s Record Missile and Drone Strikes Across Ukraine

Saturday’s Coverage: Russia Attacks Kyiv with Missiles and Drones

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2207 GMT:

Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg has broken the Administration’s silence over Russia’s record-setting missile and drone strikes.

Trump has issued no comment about the Russian assault.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, “Putin is not interested in peace, he wants to continue this war, and we must not allow this, which is why the European Union will agree on additional sanctions.”

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna echoed:

Another night of Russia demonstrating its ongoing aim to wipe Ukraine off the map with swarms of drones and missiles — including ballistic ones.

Putin continues this until the pressure becomes unbearable. It’s in our hands to make him stop.

UPDATE 1624 GMT:

Two women have been killed and three other civilians injured by a Russian strike on the frontline city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

The slain women were aged 85 and 56. A 60-year-old man and two women aged 75 and 68 were wounded.

UPDATE 1618 GMT:

The European Union’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, has posted on Facebook about Russia’s largest missile and drone attack of the full-scale invasion:

Russians are relentlessly stepping up the pressure. Stepping up the terror against civilians. The attacks are more intense and frequent. They laugh at the world!!! They mock the U.S. and mock any diplomatic attempt at peace. Peace? What peace?

She pondered, “How will the world react to Putin’s terror and clear provocation? To his mockery of any ceasefire discussion? I must admit, I ask that myself. Putin is clearly after his stated goal, killing Ukrainians and forcing Ukraine into submission. Sadly, the only language he understands is the language of force.”

UPDATE 1333 GMT:

Ukraine Deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa has posted about the three children, from the same family, killed by Russia in the Zhytomyr region in the northwest of the country.

UPDATE 1307 GMT:

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has responded to Russia’s largest missile and drone strikes on Ukraine during Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

UPDATE 1052 GMT:

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged another 303 prisoners on each side, completing a 1,000-for-1,000 swap.

The exchange, agreed in talks on Istanbul on May 16, took place over three days.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted, “We will definitely bring every single one of our people back from Russian captivity.”

UPDATE 0905 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Russia’s overnight missile and drone strikes, the largest of the full-scale invasion, which have killed at least 12 civilians and wounded 60.

Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin.

Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now – the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world who seek peace.

UPDATE 0735 GMT:

Russia’s advantage on the battlefield is diminishing, say European, US, and Ukrainian officials and military analysts.

Multiple officials cited critical shortages of weapons and manpower for Russia, making the time opportune for escalated pressure on Moscow.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency assessed that, during its full-scale invasion since February 2022, Russia has “lost at least 10,000 ground combat vehicles, including more than 3,000 tanks, as well as nearly 250 aircraft and helicopters and more than 10 naval vessels”.

Over the past year, Russia has taken only 0.6% of additional Ukrainian territory, at the cost of 1,500 killed or wounded per day.

The invasion “probably will continue to slowly trend in Russia’s favor through 2025,” says the assessment, presented to Congress 10 days ago. But Russian gains “are slowing and continue to come at the expense of high personnel and equipment losses”.

“Russia is very gradually taking bits of territory still, but at an unsustainably high cost,” said Richard Barrons, the former head of the UK Joint Forces Command. “It is very unlikely now that the Russian military have the equipment, the people, and the training and logistics to mount an offensive that would break the Ukrainian line and — even if they did — to exploit it immediately.”

A Ukrainian security official noted that Russia has not been able to gain ground despite its large advantage in personnel. They cited the effect of Ukraine’s incursion since last August in the Kursk region in western Russia, which forced the invaders to divert men and resources from frontlines.

“Russia is not able to take any ground….Despite the fact that they still have three-to-one superiority in number of troops — and maybe even bigger in terms of [weapons] systems — it’s still not enough,” the official summarized.

Jack Watling of London’s Royal United Services Institute added, “The Russians can continue fighting, but … the force will become more and more de-mechanized over time, and that does put a timeline on how long they can sustain the current way they operate.”

A senior European official said, “Putin believes that time is on his side, and Ukraine is bleeding faster than Russia.”

But another said of the Kremlin, “I think they overestimate the current success of Russia.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has carried out another wave of intense missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight, killing at least 12 civilians and wounding dozens.

Air defenses downed 45 of 69 missiles and intercepted or blocked 266 of 298 drones, but 22 locations suffered direct strikes.

Among the victims were three children in the Zhytomyr region in northwest Ukraine.

In the Kyiv regions, four people were slain and 16 injured, including three children, as the capital prepared to celebrate Kyiv Day. A student dormitory was among the damaged civilian sites, with one of its outside walls on fire.

Four civilians were killed in the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine, as six residential buildings were destroyed and 20 damaged. One person was murdered in Mykolaiv in the south.

The assault followed Russia’s launch of more than 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles overnight on Friday-Saturday, with 13 people slain across the country by air and ground attacks.

Ukraine President Voldoymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation, before the latest wave of strikes:

Delivering air defense systems to us means real protection for people — here and now.

Russia fills each day with horror and murder, it’s simply dragging out the war. All of this demands a response — a strong response from the United States, from Europe, and from everyone in the world who wants this war to end.

Putin has refused to cease fire repeatedly. It gains him nothing, except taking lives every single day. Every day gives new grounds for sanctions against Russia. Every day proves that without pressure on Russia, the war will continue.

European officials joined the condemnation. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted:

Katarina Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, said of the “horrific” attack: “If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to continue – read the news.”