In the war so far, Russia has hit Ukraine with the largest drone and missile attack

Ukraine’s most massive drone-and-missile attack lasted all night: A dismal day for Ukraine, as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha observes

KYIV, Ukraine — A massive Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions in the country for a second consecutive night, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens, officials said early Sunday.

Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel that he expected more to come tomorrow. Russia’s defense ministry stated that it expected the exchange to continue.

The latest swap, involving Ukrainian civilians, did not bring a halt to the fighting.

Both countries have continued their attacks on the front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed.

A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night. The most massive Russian air attack in many weeks lasted all night,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

It was a sad day for the city as it observes the last Sunday of May as Ukraine’s national holiday, called Kyiv Day, which commemorates its founding in the 5th century.

That has been a long-standing demand of the Ukrainian leader but one that — despite warnings to Moscow by the United States and Europe — have not materialized in ways to deter Russia.

The attack on Zhytomyr, the city of Markhalivka, West of Kyiv, as reported by the Associated Press, on Sunday

Zelenskyy wrote on X that Sunday’s targets included Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi.

“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help,” Zelenskyy said. “If you don’t have determination, you won’t get peace.” That is what the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world that seek peace means.

The attacks came as Russia and Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange, but it was only a flicker of good news in the war. There has been little sign of progress in securing a ceasefire, even after a more than two-hour phone call between Trump and Putin last week. Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, proposed by the U.S., but Putin rejected it.

In the region of Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, three children were killed, aged 8, 12 and 17, according to the emergency service. Twelve were injured in the attacks, the service said. At least four people were killed in the Khmelnytskyi region, in western Ukraine. One person was killed in southern Ukraine.

In the village of Markhalivka, just outside Kyiv, where several homes were burned down in the overnight strikes, the Fedorenkos watched their ruined home in tears.

“The street is just terrible, it’s like Bakhmut, like Mariupol, it’s a wasteland,” said 86-year-old Liubov Fedorenko. She told the AP how grateful she was her daughter had not joined them for the weekend with her family.

“I was trying to persuade my daughter to come to us,” Fedorenko said, adding she told her daughter, “After all, you live on the eighth floor in Kyiv, and here it’s the ground floor.'”

“She said, ‘No, mum, I’m not coming.’ And thank God she didn’t come, because the rocket hit (the house) on the side where the children’s rooms were,” Fedorenko said.

Ivan Fedorenko, 80, said he regrets letting their two dogs into the house after the air raid sirens went off. He said they burned to death. I wish to bury them, but I’m not allowed yet.

Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Everything out of his mouth is going to hell,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Sunday

Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said that each side brought home more soldiers the previous day, while the other side released a total of 389 people. The swap will be the biggest exchange of prisoners in more than three years.

Trump also had strong words for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he’s had a prickly relationship. “Everything out of his mouth causes problems. I don’t like it, and it better stop,” he said on social media.

Writing on social media Sunday, Trump suggested Putin has larger aspirations. “He wants all of the country, not just a piece of it,” Trump wrote. If he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia.

Trump’s remarks were played down by the Kremlin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested Trump’s comments could be blamed on “emotional overload,” and thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war.

Trump told reporters Sunday that Putin is killing a lot of people. “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump said. I’ve known him for a long time, but he’s always sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don’t like that at all.