US president Donald Trump issued some of his sharpest criticism of Russian president Vladimir Putin after Russia launched its largest aerial bombardment on Ukraine since the war began in 2022.
"I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Mr Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday night.
Mr Trump said Mr Putin is "needlessly killing a lot of people", pointing out that "missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever".
The US president warned that if Mr Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine, it will "lead to the downfall of Russia!"
At least 12 people, including three children, have died so far in what Ukraine has called Russia’s largest aerial assault since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia fired 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv.
Despite that bombardment, Russia and Ukraine concluded the third and final part of their largest prisoner swap yet, in which they exchanged a total of 1,000 people each.
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Key Points
- Russia launches war's largest air attack on Ukraine
- Trump lashes out at Putin on Truth Social: 'He has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
- Russia and Ukraine complete prisoner swap hours after Moscow launches major aerial assault
- Ukraine says 298 drones and 69 missiles fired in largest attack of war
- Trump says he is 'absolutely' considering new sanctions against Russia
Putin’s helicopter used to repel Ukrainian attack in Kursk, military officials claim
06:20
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Shweta Sharma
Military officials have claimed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s helicopter was used to repel a large-scale attack by Ukrainian drones during his visit to the Kursk region on 20 May.
Air defence division commander Yuri Dashkin told Russian state television: “[Putin's helicopter] was virtually at the epicentre of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy’s drones.
“The intensity of the attack during the flight of the aircraft with the commander-in-chief over the territory of the Kursk region increased significantly.
“Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defence battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter’s flight in the air.
”He added that “the attack by the enemy’s drones was repelled, all airspace targets were destroyed.”
Trump says he is 'absolutely' considering new sanctions against Russia
06:00
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Shweta Sharma
Donald Trump has said he is “absolutely” considering a new tranche of sanctions against Russia after the largest attack on Ukraine since the full-scale war began in 2022.
Mr Trump’s comments, made to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday before he boarded Air Force One, came as he showed his visible frustration with Vladimir Putin and continued to push for a ceasefire.
Mr Trump called Mr Putin “crazy” for killing civilians in Ukraine after the attack claimed 12 lives.
“I’m not happy with what Putin is doing,” Mr Trump said. “He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time – always gotten along with him – but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.”
Mr Trump also criticised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, posting that the Ukrainian leader "is doing his Country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop."
German foreign minister calls for more sanctions on Russia
05:48
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Shweta Sharma
Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul called for more sanctions on Russia following the latest wave of attacks on Ukraine.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not interested in peace, he wants to continue this war, and we must not allow this, which is why the European Union will agree additional sanctions," he said in a live interview on ARD's Bericht aus Berlin.
Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including at the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.
Wadephul added that the United States was also able to launch new sanctions packages, and he hoped that the weight of the measures would get Putin to the negotiating table, to avoid what he called potentially severe consequences for Russia's economy and energy sectors.
Ukraine says 298 drones and 69 missiles fired in largest attack of war
05:41
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Shweta Sharma
Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russia had attacked the country with 298 drones and 69 missiles, the largest overnight aerial assault since the full-scale war began in 2022 – a total of 367 projectiles.
It said it downed 45 missiles and 266 of the drones.
The bombardment represented the third consecutive night of major Russian aerial attacks.
Russian air defences intercepted 110 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 13 over the Moscow and Tver regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry did not report any casualties.
In pictures: bittersweet moments from the prison swap
05:29
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 in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the more than three years of war.
Russia's Defence 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.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Sunday's exchange, saying on X that "303 Ukrainian defenders are home."
While some relatives embraced their loved ones, others were left disappointed as their family members did not arrive as part of the prisoner exchange.
Sister of Ukrainian soldier speaks of special moment she reunited with her brother
05:11
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Shweta Sharma
Nataliya Borovyk, the sister of released Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ulesov, was overwhelmed when she learned of her brother's return.
"My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so I could get here," she told The Associated Press. "A moment like that stays with you forever."
Ms Borovyk said the family had been waiting anxiously for news, and that she had hoped her brother might be released in the first part of the exchange on Friday.
"We were worried about all the guys. He wasn't there on Friday, but I was here – I at least greeted them, I stood there until the very end and waited, (hoping) maybe he would appear after all."
Her brother's release was part of the largest prisoner swap so far between Russia and Ukraine.
In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month – the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks – Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The exchange has been the only tangible outcome from the talks.
Trump lashes out at Putin on Truth Social: 'He has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
04:31
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Shweta Sharma
US president Donald Trump fired off a screed against Vladimir Putin on Truth Social on Sunday night, saying the Russian president has “gone absolutely CRAZY.”
His statement on the social media platform followed brief remarks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, saying he’s “not happy” with Putin and that “he’s killing a lot of people.”
“And I don't know what the hell happened to Putin,” he told reporters. “I've known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people.”
On Truth Social, he wrote: “He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. 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!”
Mr Trump also said that Volodymyr Zelensky is “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,” Mr Trump wrote. “This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.”
Russia launches war's largest air attack on Ukraine
04:19
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Shweta Sharma
Russian forces mounted the largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022, killing at least 12 people, including three children.
Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, the highest number of strikes in a single night since the invasion.
The dead included three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr, local officials there said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the United States, which has taken a softer public line on Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, since President Donald Trump took office, to speak out.
"The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin," he wrote on Telegram.
"Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia."
Russia and Ukraine complete prisoner swap hours after Moscow launches major aerial assault
04:08
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Shweta Sharma
Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners of war in the third and final part of the biggest exchange between the countries.
Russia's Defence 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.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Sunday's exchange, saying on X that "303 Ukrainian defenders are home."
Hours earlier, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions came under a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens.
Ukrainian officials described it as the largest aerial assault since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.