‘Kremlin Will Stop at Nothing to Terrorize Ukraine’: Russia Defies Trump’s Peace Process With Massive Overnight Barrage in Kyiv

Latest Developments

Attacks Killed Ukrainian Civilians: Russia struck Ukraine with one of its largest missile and drone barrages since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia bombarded Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with a reported 598 drones and 31 missiles, killing at least 19 people, including four children, with others missing and at least 63 injured. Though the strikes appear to have at least partly targeted military-industrial sites, shockwaves also damaged a building housing the EU mission to Ukraine, the offices of the British Council, the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the Azerbaijani embassy. Meanwhile, Ukraine also carried out a series of drone strikes inside Russia, hitting the Afipsky and Kuybyshevskyi oil refineries.
Western Leaders Express Outrage: The attack comes less than two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with President Donald Trump in Alaska as part of Trump’s efforts to end the war. U.S. envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg wrote on X that the “egregious attacks threaten the peace that [Trump] is pursuing.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her “outrage,” stating that the strikes show “that the Kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorize Ukraine, blindly killing civilians, men, women, and children, and even targeting the European Union.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Russia was “killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace.”
Russia Undermining Trump’s Peace Efforts: Since the flurry of U.S.-led diplomacy earlier this month, Russia has rebuffed President Donald Trump’s calls for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The Kremlin wants to hold such a meeting only after Kyiv capitulates to Moscow’s maximalist demands. Russia has demanded that Ukraine give up the Donbas region, demilitarize, codify legal protections for Russian cultural influence, renounce its ambition to join NATO, and not allow foreign troops on its territory. The last point would preclude European plans for a post-war reassurance force in Ukraine that Trump has promised to support. Moscow continues to try to paint Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as illegitimate and lacking the legal authority to sign a potential peace deal, reflecting the Kremlin’s desire to replace Zelenskyy with a more pliable alternative.

FDD Expert Response

“Putin is saying that he’s not interested in peace, not interested in a path to peace, and that he’s not even interested in negotiations that could lead to a truce. Putin wants victory and conquest. President Trump has vowed to exert serious pressure on Putin in response to such aggression and intransigence. Now is the time.” — Clifford D. May, Founder and President

“These attacks are a slap in President Donald Trump’s face. Trump asks Putin for concessions, and he gets Russian missiles. The Pentagon’s decisions to reduce and eliminate defensive missile shipments to Ukraine enable Russian aggression and murder.” — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Fellow and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology

“With this latest barrage, Moscow is yet again spitting in the face of Washington’s and Kyiv’s good-faith efforts to achieve peace. President Trump must not allow Putin to continue blowing him off. Instead, he should apply greater pressure, starting with tougher sanctions targeting Russian oil revenue. Trump should also permit Ukraine to strike inside Russia using U.S.-supplied long-range missiles and targeting support.” — John Hardie, Russia Program Deputy Director

“The targeting of EU and other international buildings in Kyiv was not accidental but rather an intentional symbolic gesture by Russia to show that Europe and the United States are paper tigers who are unwilling and unable to respond. It also shows Putin’s lack of commitment to serious peace negotiations. He is waging a new generation of warfare that includes sabotage activities that are right below the threshold of war. His ultimate goals are to subjugate Ukraine and to restore Russia as a great power. It’s past time for Western policymakers to acknowledge that they are already in a hybrid war with Russia.” — Ivana Stradner, Research Fellow