US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin "has gone absolutely crazy" following a series of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities and warned that if he attempts to conquer all of Ukraine, it will lead to Russia's "downfall."
Ukrainian officials said on May 26 that Russia had launched some 355 drones at Ukraine overnight -- a record number in more than three years of war -- along with nine cruise missiles.
The attack, the third consecutive night Russia had fired a major salvo at Ukraine, hit several locations, including residential buildings and industrial facilities, officials said.
"I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him," Trump said in his harshest public comments ever regarding the Kremlin leader. "He has gone absolutely CRAZY!"
"He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers," Trump wrote on his social media platform late on May 25. "Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!"
The Truth Social posting came shortly after Trump assailed Putin in similar comments to reporters.
"I'm not happy with what Putin is doing. He's killing a lot of people, and I don't know what the hell happened to Putin," he told reporters in New Jersey as he prepared to fly back to Washington.
Putin is "sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all," Trump said angrily on the Morristown airport tarmac.
"We're in the middle of talking and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all," Trump said. "I'm surprised. Very surprised."
"Something happened to this guy -- and I don't like it."
Trump said he would "absolutely" consider imposing further sanctions against Russia to force progress in peace talks, although he wasn't specific.
The Kremlin responded to Trump's message by warning of "emotional overload" at a "very crucial moment," adding that Putin "is taking the decisions that are necessary to ensure the security of our country."
In a sign of growing impatience among Ukraine's allies over what they see as Russia's stalling tactics, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said there were "no longer any range restrictions" on arms supplied by key Western allies to Ukraine, allowing Kyiv to attack "military positions in Russia."
"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine -- neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans," he said during a forum organized by German state broadcaster WDR.
"This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia.... With very few exceptions, it didn't do that until recently. It can now do that."
Officials from Britain, France, and the United States have yet to confirm Merz's claim.
In his criticisms, Trump also turned his attention to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sharply chastising him for "doing his country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop."
The flood of comments came after Zelenskyy, in a rare public rebuke of Kyiv’s most-important ally, condemned what he called “America’s silence” after Russian attacks over the weekend killed at least 13 people and left dozens of others injured.
Commenting on May 26, Zelenskyy said that "only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale."
"There is no real military logic to this, but there is significant political meaning. In doing this, Putin shows just how much he despises the world -- the world that spends more effort on 'dialogue' with him than on real pressure," he added.
Ukraine's European allies remained vocal in their condemnation of Russia's latest attacks and for the need to maintain support for Kyiv.
"Last night's attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine," top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote on social media.
She called for "the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war."
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a TV debate that the attacks were "further proof that Russia is not interested in peace."
The governor of Ukraine's Sumy region on May 26 said that Russian forces had captured four villages as part of an attempt to create a "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory.
Oleh Hryhorov said the four villages were now held by Russian forces. He said their residents had long been evacuated.
"The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called 'buffer zone,'" he wrote.
The death and destruction at Ukrainian civilian sites was mixed with rejoicing and jubilant scenes over the weekend as hundreds of prisoners of war returned from captivity in Russia for the third day of a mass exchange in a so-called 1,000-for-1,000 swap deal.
"It is good that I'm home. Everything will be all right. I have no words," Oleksandr, a returning soldier, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
He said he had been captured in Avdiyivka, in eastern Ukraine, on July 27, 2022.
"My wife and son [are waiting for me]. We will talk soon," he added.
"I was waiting for this day. I still can't believe it," another soldier, who did not give his name, told RFE/RL.
"I didn't know how long I would be there...We had no information. For three years we didn't know what was happening to our country," he added.
At the same time, Russian media reported that 303 Russian soldiers released by Ukraine had landed in Moscow on May 25 and would "undergo medical treatment and rehabilitation."
Ukrainian Civilian Deaths Mount
Russian missiles and drones struck Ukrainian cities with deadly fire over the weekend.
Among the 13 reported deaths were three minors -- aged 8, 12, and 17 -- in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, far away from the front lines.
But the capital, Kyiv, appeared to be the focus of Russia's latest attacks, although several other cities experienced air assaults as well.
"It has never been like this before. There were dozens of explosions. Not 10, not 15 -- it was endless. You hear that roar in the sky and then bang! And we just keep waiting for what's next," Oleh, a pensioner in Mykolayiv, told RFE/RL after the May 25 attacks.
"We assume that [a drone] was on its way to bomb a factory [nearby], but it was shot down and hit the house as it fell. The blast was crazy. We were in the kitchen at that moment. We all ran to the hallway and sat there. It was really scary," he added.
The details provided by both sides could not be independently verified.
RFE/RL is effectively banned in Russia and unable to operate there. Its teams in Ukraine regularly witness deadly attacks on civilian targets across the country.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine and European countries have called for a significant ramping up of the existing sanctions regime unless Moscow accepts a 30-day cease-fire proposed by Washington.
But Trump has proved reluctant to do it, praising a recent telephone call he had with Putin, in which the Russian leader did not agree to any pause in fighting.
