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CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Ukraine scrambles to set up ‘drone wall' as it braces for Russian summer offensive
Emergency workers survey an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine on May 25, 2025. (Viktoriia Lakezina/Reuters via CNN Newsource) Russia dramatically intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine this month in an effort to sap Ukrainians' morale – but it is also stepping up ground attacks in many areas along the long frontline, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts. Some of those attacks have succeeded, with Ukrainian units in Donetsk and the north falling back from some positions, while some rural areas in the south have also been lost. But Ukraine's own enhanced use of drones, deployed in several layers on the battlefield, has helped Kyiv inflict heavy losses on the opposing forces with minimal casualties among its own troops. They may become even more critical in the months to come. The Ukrainians are trying to expand their own drone industry to create defensive corridors along key sections of the front line, often dubbed the 'drone wall.' Meanwhile, ignoring U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a ceasefire, the Kremlin is pursuing a two-pronged strategy aimed at forcing Ukraine to admit defeat – destroying its cities from the sky and whittling away its defensive lines on the ground. Russia has sharply expanded its own drone and missile production in the past year, allowing for mass attacks using several hundred projectiles at once. The Russian strategy seeks to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses with scores of low-cost drones so that simultaneous missile strikes can succeed. On the ground, Russian forces are probing Ukrainian defenses along many parts of the frontline simultaneously, from Zaporizhzhia in the south to Sumy in the north, advancing into abandoned villages and across open countryside in small numbers. The Russians are not rolling through Ukrainian defenses but gnawing away at them, using cars and motorbikes and scattered infantry platoons. Russian forces have advanced an average of roughly 14 square kilometres (5.4 square miles) per day so far this year, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington. This rate implies they'd need nearly four more years to complete the occupation of the four regions illegally annexed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Those are the Kremlin's oft-stated goals, but it is also trying to instill a sense among Kyiv's allies of Russian superiority over Ukrainian forces. Much of the fighting is in Donetsk, with the Russians still determined to seize the entire region – unless it is handed over in peace negotiations, which is a non-starter for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed Tuesday that a village south of the key town of Kostiantynivka had been taken. ISW assesses that Russian forces seized roughly 65 square kilometres of territory - but remain incapable of intensifying offensive operations in several different directions simultaneously. 'The main Russian effort into the summer will once again be against the key towns of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk' in Donetsk, according to Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. Hundreds of miles to the north, Russian units have edged a few kilometres into the Sumy region. Zelenskyy told journalists Tuesday that the Russians are 'now amassing troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50,000. We understand that. But we are making progress there.' Zelenskyy said the Russians wanted 'to build this buffer zone, as they call it, 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) deep into Ukraine,' but lacked the capability. The Russians are supporting these operations with missile and air-launched guided-bomb attacks. The attacks into Sumy follow a Kremlin directive on May 21 that the military create buffer zones inside northern Ukraine – in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. That came when President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Kursk region across the border, part of which had been seized by a Ukrainian incursion launched from Sumy last summer. Capturing Sumy's regional capital is probably beyond the Russians – the terrain is thickly forested. But through their attacks, the Russian military can prevent the Ukrainians from redeploying units to Donetsk. Further east there's also been an uptick in fighting around Vovchansk in Kharkiv region in recent days. Across the 1,000-kilometre (621-mile) frontline, according to analysts, the Ukrainian military has to decide which areas are under greatest threat, where to withdraw, how to redeploy – even as many brigades are seriously under-strength more than three years after the Russian invasion. The manpower balance is still very much in Russia's favour, despite its heavy losses. Putin recently claimed that 60,000 volunteers are being recruited every month. Observers believe this is likely exaggerated but signing-up bonuses that dwarf civilian wages in Russia make military service an attractive option. Ukraine's military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said earlier this month that Kyiv faced 'a combined enemy grouping of up to 640,000 personnel,' higher than at the outset of the invasion. Zelensky said in January that Ukraine had 880,000 soldiers, 'but 880,000 are defending the entire territory. Russian forces are concentrated in certain directions.' Russian recruitment 'has exceeded Kremlin targets for every month of 2025,' according to the RUSI analyst Watling. 'Having shuffled commanders and built-up reserves of equipment, Russia is now set to increase the tempo and scale of attacks.' But for every square kilometre of Ukrainian land that Russia captures, Moscow is probably losing about 100 men, according to Western assessments. Layers of drones Above and behind the frontlines as well as in the air campaign being waged by Moscow, the development and deployment of drones will continue to be critical. The recent Russian advances in Donetsk, while incremental, were enabled by the tactic of isolating the battlefield – cutting Ukrainian units from supplies through drone strikes on supply vehicles up to 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the front lines. Ukrainian defences are heavily reliant on layers of drones. The Ukrainians are developing a concept sometimes dubbed the 'drone wall,' designed to 'provide a continuous defensive corridor of drones along Ukraine's most vulnerable frontiers to inflict significant casualties on Russian forces,' according to Mick Ryan, author of the blog Futura Doctrina. Konrad Muzyka, a defense analyst at Rochan Consulting, says that 'Ukrainian forces are increasingly lethal with drone-artillery coordination. Russian assaults — motorcycle-based and armored — were defeated across several fronts with minimal Ukrainian losses' in April. But Ryan points out that an effective drone wall will require integration 'and probably AI-assisted decision-making and analysis,' as well as integration with electronic warfare. And it's a two-way street. Ukrainian drones are 'guided by small radar, and Russia is now systematically working to locate and target these radar stations,' Watling writes. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia plans to ramp up production of Shahed attack drones to between 300 and 350 per day. Asked whether there may come a time when Russia fires 1,000 drones in one day, he replied: 'I cannot say that this will not happen.' Sending drones in their hundreds saturates air defenses, as they accumulate over a target area. Russia has also developed drones that can evade Ukrainian jamming and can fly higher and faster than earlier models. Ukrainian analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said last week that one Shahed had been observed at a record altitude of 4,900 meters. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine is now deploying F-16 and Mirage fighter jets to supplement air defences. 'We are also moving towards drone-to-drone interceptors,' he said Tuesday. Ukraine's former military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, says Ukraine must wage a 'high-tech war of survival' in which drones play a critical role, to 'make the economic burden of the war unbearable for Russia.' Speaking to a Kyiv forum last week, Zaluzhnyi – now Ukraine's ambassador to London - said that his country had failed to exploit innovations 'where yesterday we were ahead of the enemy. The enemy has already outpaced us.' Analysts cite Russia's growing use of short-range fibre-optic drones that can't be jammed as one example of the technological race. Ukraine is yet to scale up the use of such drones, which rely on millimeters-thick, but miles-long, optical fibers. Zelenskyy denied Ukraine was losing the drone war. 'We will have the same number of drones as the Russians, 300-500 per day - we are very close to it,' he said. The issue was not production, Zelenskyy said – it was financial. As Ukraine seeks to produce more of its own weapons – often in association with Western manufacturers, Zelenskyy added: 'I would like to see us receive US$30 billion to launch Ukrainian production at full capacity.' But that is a long-term goal. Watling, from RUSI, envisages a tough few months for Ukraine that 'will place a premium on the efficiency of Ukrainian drone and artillery operations, the ability of Ukrainian commanders to preserve their troops, and the continuity of supplies flowing from Ukraine's international partners.' The continuation of U.S. supplies is unsure as Trump blows hot and cold about whether Washington should continue helping Ukraine defend itself. Putin is 'desperately seeking to prevent the future supply of Western military aid to Ukraine,' according to ISW, 'as well-resourced Ukrainian forces have consistently demonstrated their ability to inflict unsustainable losses on Russian forces.' Innovation and tactical agility will be as influential as brute force as the war enters its fourth summer. By Tim Lister, CNN CNN's Kosta Gak and Victoria Butenko contributed reporting.
CBS News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump blasts Putin as "absolutely crazy" as Russia targets Ukraine with massive wave of drones and missiles
Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine overnight since the more than three-year war began, a Ukrainian official said Monday. President Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" in stepping up his country's bombing of Ukraine just as the U.S. tries to broker a peace agreement. Russia's Sunday night attack included the launch of 355 drones, Yuriy Ihnat, head of the Ukrainian air force's communications department, told The Associated Press. The previous night, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles of various types in what Ukrainian authorities said was the largest combined aerial assault during the conflict. Overall, from Friday to Sunday, Russia launched around 900 drones at Ukraine, officials said. The escalation appeared to thwart hopes that Mr. Trump's peace efforts might lead to a breakthrough in the near term, as Putin looks determined to capture more Ukrainian territory and inflict more damage. Rescuers help local residents retrieve personal belongings from destroyed apartments, May 25, 2025, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after a Russian attack using exploding drones. Serhii Ovcharyshyn/ Images Ukraine/Getty Russia has this month broken its record for aerial bombardments of Ukraine three times. The expansion of its air campaign came after Kyiv in March accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S., but Moscow effectively rejected it. Russia is also still pushing along the roughly 620-mile front line, where it has made slow and costly progress, and is assembling its forces for a summer offensive, Ukraine and military analysts say. Mr. Trump made it clear he is losing patience with Putin. "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 U.S. president wrote Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform. Putin is "needlessly killing a lot of people," Mr. Trump said, pointing out that "missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever." He warned that if Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine, it will "lead to the downfall of Russia!" President Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine. But Mr. Trump again expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, saying that he's, "doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does." Zelenskyy reacted to the overnight Russian strikes in his own social media post on Monday, saying: "Only a sense of complete impunity can allow Russia to carry out such attacks and continually escalate their scale... There is no significant military logic to this, but there is considerable political meaning." He repeated his call for tighter international economic sanctions on Russia as a way of ending the war, because Russia's "desire to fight must be deprived of resources." Russia and Europe react to Trump's remarks on Putin The Russian government appeared to downplay Mr. Trump's remarks about Putin as an emotional outburst, however some European leaders, who have been frustrated for months by the U.S. president repeating Kremlin talking points about the war and ridiculing Zelenskyy's government, seemed to take some hope by the change in tack. At the Kremlin, Putin's chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that, "the start of the negotiation process [with Ukraine], for which the American side has done a lot, is a very important achievement. We are very thankful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process. This is a very important achievement … Of course, at the same time this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone, absolutely, and with emotional reactions. We follow this very closely." French President Emmanuel Macron, however, told reporters during a visit to Vietnam that it seemed Mr. Trump appeared to be realizing that Putin had "lied" to him about wanting to find a diplomatic resolution to the war. The French leader said his hope was that Mr. Trump's anger at Moscow "translates into action," and he called for Ukraine's international partners to set a firm deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, with the threat of "massive sanctions" should Putin continue to refuse. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, told his country's broadcaster WDR that "Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness," stressing the Kremlin's rejection of proposed direct talks with Ukraine at the Vatican as evidence that "we must be prepared for this war to last longer than we all wish or can imagine." Merz said several of Ukraine's partners had already dropped restrictions on allowing their military aid to be used for strikes deep inside Russia. "There are no longer any range restrictions on the weapons delivered to Ukraine. Not from the British, nor the French, nor from us… and not from the Americans either," Merz said Monday. "This means Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military targets in Russia. For a long time, it couldn't do that, and with a few exceptions, it didn't. We call this long-range fire, meaning equipping Ukraine in such a way that it can also strike military targets in the hinterland — and that is the decisive, qualitative difference in Ukraine's warfare: Russia is attacking civilian cities without any regard, bombing cities, hospitals, and nursing homes. Ukraine does not do that." The European Union's top diplomat, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, earlier described the latest attacks on Kyiv as "totally appalling" and said the bloc intended to impose more sanctions on Russia. Mr. Trump has threatened massive sanctions on Moscow, too, but so far hasn't taken action. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin makes decisions that are necessary to ensure Russia's security and that the attacks were Moscow's response to deep strikes by Ukraine. Prisoner swap provides a solitary sign of progress Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners Sunday in the third and last part of a major exchange that was a rare moment of cooperation between the warring nations. A screen capture from a video shows Russian soldiers after Russia and Ukraine on Sunday confirmed the third and final round of a large-scale prisoner swap carried out between Moscow and Kyiv under the terms of an agreement reached in Istanbul earlier this month, in Russia, May 25, 2025. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Russia's Defense Ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers, following the release of 307 combatants and civilians each on Saturday, and 390 on Friday — the biggest total swap of the war. In their talks held in Istanbul earlier this month, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The exchange has been the only tangible outcome of those direct talks to date.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Russian drone strike on Mykolaiv kills 1 person and injures 5
A Russian drone struck a five-storey residential building in Mykolaiv overnight on 24-25 May, killing one person and injuring five, including a teenager. Two floors of the building were completely destroyed and three more were damaged. Source: State Emergency Service on Telegram Quote: "As of 06:00, rescue workers have retrieved the body of a 77-year-old man. Five people were injured, including a teenager." The aftermath of the Russian attack Photo: State Emergency Service Details: Two women were rescued from the rubble. One was hospitalised in a serious condition, while the other received psychological support. A total of 210 residents were evacuated from the building. The aftermath of the Russian attack Photo: State Emergency Service Background: Earlier, Vitalii Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, reported two injured from a Russian drone attack in Mykolaiv. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Russia Bombards Ukraine With One of Largest Air Assaults of the War
Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with one of its largest drone and missile barrages of the war, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens in hourslong attacks on cities and villages across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. It was the second large-scale attack in two nights, part of a broader escalation by Russia in recent months that has brought a spike in civilian casualties even as the Trump administration pushes for a cease-fire. Ukraine has also stepped up its own air attacks on Russian territory, though on a smaller scale and with far fewer civilian deaths. Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia had launched 69 ballistic and cruise missiles along with 298 attack drones, adding that about two-thirds of the missiles and nearly all the drones were shot down. The Air Force spokesman, Yuriy Ihnat, said in an interview that it was the largest bombardment of the war in terms of the number of weapons used. Those numbers could not be independently verified. Images and videos released by Ukraine's emergency services captured the scale of the devastation on Sunday morning. They showed firefighters spraying water on an apartment building in the southern city of Mykolaiv whose roof had been smashed, its shattered beams jutting into the sky like broken ribs. In the Kyiv region, emergency workers walked down a street where the houses on both sides were consumed by fire and debris covered the pavement. In the western Zhytomyr region, photos showed rescuers pulling the bodies of three children from houses that had been reduced to rubble. In addition to the casualties in Zhytomyr, four people were killed in the Kyiv region, four others in the western Khmelnytsky region and one in Mykolaiv, according to the local authorities. Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's interior minister, said that a total of 13 regions had come under attack and that more than 60 people were injured. He added that more than 80 residential buildings were damaged. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has accused the Kremlin of playing for time in peace negotiations, cited the attacks as further proof that 'Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day.' In a post on social media, he called for increased pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin. 'The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends or weekdays,' Mr. Zelensky wrote. 'This cannot be ignored. Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin.' There was hope in Ukraine that the cease-fire talks that President Trump initiated in February would at least ease air attacks on civilian areas. Instead, the violence has intensified. Ukrainian civilian deaths have risen each month since February, according to the United Nations, reaching 209 in April — one of the highest monthly tolls in two years. Russia appears to have been increasingly targeting cities more intensively. Last month, a strike near a playground and another on a crowded city center killed 53 civilians, including several children.
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine under Russian missile, drone attacks for second night, 12 killed
Russia has targeted Ukraine for a second consecutive night with drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people as the two countries pursue a major prisoner swap. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the war. 'Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations,' the air force said on Telegram. Ukraine's security service reported that at least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital, Kyiv. The country's emergency service reported that three children – aged eight, 12 and 17 – were killed in the region of Zhytomyr, while another person was killed in the southern city of Mykolaiv. Four others were killed in attacks across the Khmelnytskyi region, Sergiy Tyurin, the deputy head of the regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram, adding that civilian infrastructure had been destroyed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it had been a 'difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night' following 'the most massive Russian air attack in many weeks'.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that 'more than a dozen enemy drones' were in the airspace around the capital. He reported damage to a student dormitory in Holosiivskyi district, a house in Dniprovskyi district and a residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces shot down 110 Ukrainian drones overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 drones flying towards the Russian capital had been intercepted. Restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said. The two sides traded fire as they engaged in their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each in talks held in Istanbul, Turkiye, earlier this month – the first time the two sides had met face to face for peace talks. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's Defence Ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 servicemen and civilians. Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel that further releases are expected on Sunday. The Russian Defence Ministry also said it expected the exchange to continue. The renewed attacks followed a massive wave of attacks the previous day, with Ukraine reporting on Saturday that Russia had hit it with 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles, while Russia said it was attacked by at least 100 Ukrainian drones.
