Despite claims from Moscow that a peace proposal is being finalized to end the war, both Russia and Ukraine launched major drone attacks against one another overnight. Ukrainian Air Force officials reported on Tuesday that Russia deployed 60 drones across several regions, resulting in injuries to 10 people. Kyiv’s air defenses managed to intercept 43 of them—35 were shot down, and eight were diverted via electronic warfare systems.
In Dnipropetrovsk, central Ukraine, Governor Serhiy Lysak stated that the strikes damaged homes and agricultural facilities, igniting fires. In the southern city of Kherson, a drone attack early Tuesday morning injured a 59-year-old man and six municipal workers. The aerial assault came just days after Ukraine experienced one of the most intense drone barrages of the conflict so far. On Sunday night alone, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched a staggering 355 drones, marking a record high.
The uptick in attacks triggered a sharp response from U.S. President Donald Trump, who labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin as having “gone absolutely CRAZY” and signaled potential new sanctions. The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s comments, accusing him of experiencing an “emotional overload.”
Russia, in turn, justified its recent heavy strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks aimed at its civilian areas. “Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said. They claimed their forces downed 99 Ukrainian drones on Tuesday, including 56 over Belgorod, and alleged that over 2,300 Ukrainian drones were intercepted between May 20 and May 27—many outside active war zones.
Territorial Shifts in the Northeast
Photo Credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
On the ground, Russia has made new territorial gains. Four villages—Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka—in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region have been seized, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov. Civilians had been evacuated, and he warned that the goal of Russian forces is to create a “buffer zone.”
The Russian Defence Ministry added that it had also taken the nearby village of Bilovody. While Russia’s main operations remain focused in Donetsk, this movement into Sumy signals an attempt to stretch Ukrainian defense lines.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated concerns this week, warning that further Russian offensives are likely in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian troops reported facing Russian fighters on motorcycles supported by drones, though they say they’re holding their positions with precision strikes. According to military blog DeepState, Russia now controls around 62.6 square kilometers (24 square miles) of borderland in the area—a first since the conflict began.
Notably, last month, a Russian missile strike on the city of Sumy killed 36 people, further intensifying fears of escalation in the region.
