Ukraine war latest: Russia launches record 273-drone attack on Ukraine ahead of planned Trump-Putin call
Key developments on May 17-18:
Russia launches record 273-drone attack on Ukraine ahead of planned Trump-Putin call
Trump to talk to Putin on May 19 in push to end Ukraine war 'bloodbath'
Russia plans 'training' launch of Yars intercontinental ballistic missile overnight on May 19, Ukraine's HUR claims
New clips from Putin documentary suggest Russia dismissed Ukraine peace talks, ceasefire weeks ago
Ukraine's 47th Brigade battalion commander resigns, slams military leadership over 'stupid objectives'
Russia carried out its largest single drone attack since the start of its full-scale invasion, launching 273 drones overnight on May 18, Ukraine's Air Force reported.
The attack comes just two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct peace talks since 2022, and one day ahead of a planned call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv Oblast Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported that the attack killed one person and injured three others. Actual casualties from the attack are still being clarified, he said.
Kyiv Independent journalists in the capital heard multiple explosions throughout the night as air defenses worked in the city.
The Air Force said it intercepted 88 drones, while 128 others vanished from radars, likely used as decoys to overwhelm air defenses. The air defense involved the coordinated use of electronic warfare units, mobile fire teams, and anti-aircraft systems.
The previous largest drone attack of the full-scale invasion occurred on Feb. 23, when 267 drones entered Ukrainian airspace, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said at the time.
Despite increasing international pressure for an unconditional ceasefire, Moscow has intensified its assaults, displaying ongoing resistance to and disdain for diplomatic efforts.
Read also: How Russia's Shahed drones are getting more deadly — and what Ukraine is doing about it
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on May 19, at 10 a.m.
Trump's comments come as peace talks in Istanbul on May 16 ended with no breakthrough, and Russia once again issued sweeping demands, including Ukraine's adoption of neutral status, dropping claims for war reparations from Moscow and the recognition of its loss of Crimea and four occupied regions — none of which Russia fully controls.
"The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," he wrote on Truth Social.
"I will then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then, with President Zelensky, various members of NATO," he added. "Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war — a war that should have never happened — will end. God bless us all!!!"
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russia's state-owned TASS news agency on May 17 that the preparations for the call are underway.
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Following his Middle East trip, Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview published on May 16 that he believes Putin is ready to strike a deal to end the war in Ukraine, but warned that if negotiations fail, his administration will move forward with sanctions against Moscow.
"Honestly, I will (impose sanctions), if we're not gonna make a deal," Trump said. "This is turkey time, we're talking turkey, and we'll see what happens. This would be crushing for Russia because they're having a hard time now with the economy, oil prices are low."
Trump said he believes a deal won't be possible without his involvement and expressed plans to meet with Putin soon, adding: "I have a very good relationship with Putin."
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call on May 17, reportedly initiated by the U.S., to discuss bilateral relations and recent peace talks in Istanbul, Russian state media said.
Lavrov welcomed what he called Washington's "constructive" role in encouraging Kyiv to accept Putin's proposal to resume talks. Rubio reportedly praised the 1,000-for-1,000 POW exchange and ongoing efforts to define ceasefire terms.
Russia is planning a "training" launch of an RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile overnight on May 19, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on May 18.
According to the agency, the missile will be equipped with a "training" warhead, and the move is intended to intimidate Ukraine, as well as EU and NATO member states.
The launch is set to take place near the village of Svobodny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, roughly 100 kilometers northeast of Yekaterinburg, according to HUR.
The agency did not specify what the potential target of a possible attack might be.
Yars, or RS-24, is a strategic solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile system adopted by Russia in 2009. It has a claimed range of 11,000 kilometers and, when equipped with a combat warhead, an explosive power equivalent to a million tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims.
The possible launch echoes Russia's use of an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) in an attack on Dnipro on Nov. 21, 2024, which followed the lifting of U.S. and U.K. restrictions on long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia.
That strike was also followed by a Russian media campaign aimed at eroding Western support for Ukraine.
Read also: Investigation: Uncovering the secret Russian FSB operation to loot Ukraine's museums
Vladimir Putin said on March 27 that Moscow has "enough forces and means" to bring its war against Ukraine to a "logical conclusion" without making any meaningful concessions, it has been revealed in new clips from a documentary released on May 18.
"Russia has enough forces and means to bring what we started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the result Russia needs," Putin said while recording the film "Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years."
"This result is the elimination of the causes that led to this crisis, the creation of conditions for long-term sustainable peace, and the security of the Russian state."
The documentary aired on May 4 but made only passing references to the U.S.-led peace process ongoing at the time of the interview.
The latest comments — publicly withheld until now and posted on Telegram by the interviewer — come nearly four months into U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire which has been repeatedly rejected by Russia.
A source in the Ukrainian President's Office told the Kyiv Independent that Russia's delegation in Istanbul on May 16 reiterated demands for Ukraine to retreat from all annexed territories.
In the new comments, Putin said a priority is securing Russian-speaking populations in territories Russia claims as its own — a reference to Crimea and the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
The Kremlin declared its annexation of the four regions in 2022 after sham referenda, despite not fully controlling any of them.
Moscow also insisted Ukraine abandon NATO ambitions, forgo reparations, and accept a neutral status with no foreign military support — demands Kyiv has categorically rejected.
Despite initiating the Istanbul talks, the Kremlin dispatched only mid-level officials. Zelensky had called on Putin to attend personally, stressing that only the Russian president could authorize a ceasefire.
Kyiv and European governments continue to push for an unconditional truce, which Ukraine accepted in March. Moscow has ignored the offer and intensified its strikes on Ukrainian cities.
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Oleksandr Shyrshyn, battalion commander of the 47 Separate Mechanized Brigade, has submitted his resignation, sharply criticizing Ukraine's military leadership for what he described as senseless orders and unnecessary casualties.
"I have never received more stupid objectives than in the current direction," Shyrshyn wrote in a blunt Facebook post announcing his decision on May 16. "Someday I will tell you the details, but the stupid loss of people, trembling in front of a stupid generals, leads to nothing but failures."
"I hope your children will also serve in the infantry and carry out your orders," he added.
Ukraine's General Staff initiated an internal investigation on May 18 in response to Shyrshyn's accusations.
The Kyiv Independent reported in 2023 that the brigade, which was formed from scratch in 2022 and is often known by the name "Magura," was prepared with the summer 2023 counteroffensive in mind; its soldiers were trained in NATO countries and equipped with superior new Western equipment.
In 2024, the brigade was engaged in combat operations within Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, marking the first major foreign ground offensive into Russian territory since World War II. The operation sought to delay a planned Russian push into Ukraine's Sumy Oblast and redirect Russian forces away from eastern Donetsk Oblast.
Moscow began a major counteroffensive in early March, retaking large portions of territory including the town of Sudzha. Ukrainian forces have since withdrawn from much of the area but still maintain limited control in some zones as of late April despite Russia's claims that its forces have fully recaptured the territory of the region.
Meanwhile, Shyrshyn on May 16 accused the military command of focusing on punishments rather than results. "All they are capable of is reprimands, investigations, imposition of penalties. Everyone is going to hell," he wrote. "Political games and assessment of the real state of affairs do not correspond to either reality or possibilities. They played games."
Shyrshyn said he has filed a formal report requesting dismissal from his post and expressed hope that it would be accepted soon.
Read also: Ukraine's General Staff responds after accusations of 'stupid objectives' from 47th Brigade battalion commander
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Read also: Zelensky meets Pope Leo XIV at Vatican
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