Russia has accused Donald Trump of falling victim to ’emotional overload’ at a ‘crucial moment’ after the US President labelled Vladimir Putin ‘absolutely crazy’ for his brutal missile attacks on Ukraine.
When asked about Trump’s explosive remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back but also thanked the President for helping to enable ceasefire talks.
‘We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process,’ he said.
‘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,’ he then added.
The reaction came following one of Moscow‘s biggest aerial attacks on Ukraine since the war began, with Russian forces bombarding civilian areas across the country, forcing NATO to scramble warplanes from Poland for the second night in a row.
The massive overnight attack saw Russia launch 355 drones – a new record high – as well as nine cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force. Air raid alerts blared for six hours straight in Kyiv.
Making no mention of the deadly attacks staged just hours earlier, Peskov once again made what appears to be an empty promise that Moscow is working towards peace.
He insisted that officials are working on a proposal but have not yet submitted it. ‘Work is continuing. This is a serious draft, a draft of a serious document that demands careful checks and preparation,’ he claimed.
In a phone call with Trump last week, Putin said Russia and Ukraine would work on a memorandum relating to a peace accord, prompting new accusations from Kyiv and Western allies that Moscow was stalling and had no serious interest in peace.
A blaze is seen at a destroyed commercial facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine, following last night’s Russian air strikes
Burnt out cars are seen following the Russian attack on Ukraine, in the Odesa region
President Donald Trump has warned Putin has gone ‘absolutely crazy’ following his latest deadly attack on Ukraine
Putin’s spokesman has accused Donald Trump of falling victim to ’emotional overload’ at a ‘crucial moment’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would be ready to hand Kyiv a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord once a prisoner exchange agreed at talks in Istanbul was completed.
That swap, which saw both Russia and Ukraine hand over 1,000 people, was completed on Sunday, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Peskov said work towards a peace deal would continue based upon agreements reached in Istanbul, with the prisoner exchange as the first stage.
President Trump last night accused Putin of needlessly killing a lot of people’, and threatened tougher sanctions in response.
‘Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
‘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,’ he added – a statement which reflected the chilling vision shared by Medvedev.
His comments came on the same day as Putin mouthpiece Dmitry Medvedev shared a map suggesting that the Kremlin tyrant wants to turn the whole of Ukraine – apart from a tiny sliver on Poland‘s border – into a ‘buffer zone’.
Medvedev – an ex-president of Russia and now a top security and political official – wrote on X: ‘If military aid to the [Kyiv] regime continues, the buffer zone could look like this.’
He offered no further explanation, but reasoned in a Telegram post earlier this month that such a large zone was necessary to protect Belgorod from long-range Western weapons supplied to Ukraine, such as the British Storm Shadow with a range of more than 150 miles.
As well as his very blunt words for Putin on Sunday, Trump also took aim at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and what he claimed was his part in prolonging the three-year war, which began with Russia’s illegal invasion.
![Medvedev wrote on X: 'If military aid to the [ Kyiv ] regime continues, the buffer zone could look like this'](https://www.americanpolibeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1748269219_461_Putin-accuses-Trump-of-suffering-an-emotional-overload-after-president.jpeg)
Medvedev wrote on X: ‘If military aid to the [ Kyiv ] regime continues, the buffer zone could look like this’
Burning houses are seen after a devastating Russian air strike on a town in the Kyiv region
The moment Ukrainian kamikaze drones strike a military facility in Russia in the early hours of May 26
Medvedev – an ex-president of Russia and now a top security and political official – has styled himself as one of Russia’s most outspoken anti-Western hawks
‘Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does,’ he said, reigniting tensions between the two leaders.
‘Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.’
Zelensky had earlier called on Trump to condemn the attack, writing on Telegram: ‘The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin.
‘Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.’
In Odesa, a man was killed after covering his girlfriend with his body. After receiving 70 per cent burns on his body he managed to let her and his dog out to be rescued, according to reports.
In Kharkiv region, at least six settlements were under fire with two women, aged 84 and 58 killed.
A man aged 60 and women aged 76 and 68 were injured.
Russian troops shelled the village of Kindrativka in the Sumy region with artillery, killing a man, and wounding another.
In Khotyn, a 48-year-old resident died from artillery shelling.
Another civilian – a 52-year-old man – was injured.
Russia staged a massive attack on a military airfield in Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region.
‘It burned like hell on earth…’ said a witness.
In Zaporizhzhia region, a woman, 60, and man, 52 were wounded in Russian strikes on a private home.
Smoke and destruction is seen after a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
The moment of Russian missile strike at Starokostiantyniv Ukrainian Air Force base in Khmelnytskyi region of Ukraine
A destroyed building in Odesa, Ukraine, following an overnight bombardment by Putin’s forces
Ukraine continued to fight back – again causing mayhem at Russian airports, especially Moscow, as they were forced into shutdowns due to swarming kamikaze drones.
Moscow hubs Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky all suffered closures – as did Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and Cherepovets airports.
A major chemical plant – key to making Russian explosives – was hit at Kineshma in Ivanovo region, with smoke seen pouring from the facility.
Tula region, with multiple defence enterprises, was also under fire – a regular target in recent days.
Power outages followed the drone strikes.
Russia’s main drone-making centre Yelabuga in Tatarstan was also hit by Ukrainian drones in overnight attacks, according to reports.
And a train exploded in Russia’s Belgorod region after hitting a mine.
Leading Putin TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov admitted that Ukrainian fighters are holding up Russia – claiming if the war was against Britain and other Western countries, Moscow would have won by now.
‘The [Ukrainian] enemy is strong and cunning,’ he told viewers. ‘And we win not by numbers, but by skill, by preparation.
‘If they were not like us… but like the Germans, French and British, we’d have [finished] them…
‘There’d be nothing left of them. Just nothing. The [Westerners] don’t understand what war is.’
Leading Putin TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov admitted that Ukrainian fighters are holding up Russia
The Institute for the Study of War assessed that Putin’s relentless attacks are aimed at hitting morale in Ukraine but also undermining Western confidence in Kyiv’s ability to resist the Russians.
‘Russian President Vladimir Putin is leveraging long-range strikes against Ukrainian cities, aggressive rhetorical campaigns, and excessive pessimism in the West about the battlefield situation in Ukraine in a multi-pronged effort to degrade Ukrainian morale and convince the West that a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable and that supporting Ukraine is futile,’ said the ISW.
Yet ‘the battlefield situation has shifted dramatically since early 2022, and three years of manpower and material losses have significantly degraded the Russian military’s ability to conquer Ukraine.
‘Russian advances have significantly slowed as Russian forces continue to suffer personnel losses and increasingly rely on poorly trained and equipped infantry to make gains.
‘Putin remains deeply committed to distracting from the realities of the battlefield situation, however, as bringing about the cessation of Western military assistance to Ukraine is Russia’s only real hope of winning this war.’
Russia said it had shot down 148 Ukrainian drones.
Zelensky vowed new sanctions including ‘against representatives of Russian mafia groups who significantly helped the formation of the Putin regime and are still associated with it’.
