KYIV, Ukraine — A wave of Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine has left at least 12 people dead, including three children, and dozens more injured, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday, May 25, 2025.
The overnight assault, one of the most intense since the start of the invasion, targeted more than 30 cities and villages.
According to Ukrainian military sources, Russia launched nearly 300 attack drones and close to 70 missiles of varying types in the overnight barrage.
The strikes followed a similarly heavy assault on Friday, May 23, 2025, that devastated parts of the capital Kyiv and other key regions.
In a statement on Sunday, May 25, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised rescue teams working in the aftermath of the bombardment and renewed calls for stronger international pressure on Moscow.
“Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader’s remarks underscored growing frustration in Kyiv over stalled diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
While the United States has recently increased pressure on Moscow to accept a ceasefire, negotiations have made little progress.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump held a two-hour phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a rare direct contact between the two leaders.
The discussion reportedly focused on the prospect of a ceasefire.
However, Putin dismissed any immediate breakthrough, stating that “root causes” of the war must be addressed before an agreement can be reached.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, accused the Kremlin of using ceasefire talks as a stalling tactic to prolong the conflict.
“Russia is slowing down all the processes related to the end of the war in order to kill,” Yermak said.
“We have long been ready to cease fire, but Russia is doing everything to continue destroying people, because Putin likes it.”
“Without pressure, nothing will change and Russia and its allies will only build up forces for such murders in Western countries,” he added.
“Moscow will fight as long as it has the ability to produce weapons.”
Amid the ongoing bloodshed, the two sides have continued limited cooperation on humanitarian grounds.
Over the weekend, Ukraine and Russia completed the largest prisoner exchange since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
On Friday, May 23, 2025, 390 prisoners — including soldiers and civilians — were exchanged by each side.
President Zelensky announced on Saturday, May 24, 2025, that an additional 307 Ukrainian captives had been returned home in a second phase of the swap, bringing the total to nearly 700 in 48 hours.
The exchange is part of a broader agreement to release 1,000 prisoners each.
The swaps followed the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in three years, held recently in Turkey.
While the exchanges were widely welcomed, they have yet to signal any meaningful progress toward a lasting political resolution to the war.
Meanwhile, residents across Ukraine remain under the constant threat of aerial bombardment.
Emergency services continue search and rescue operations in multiple locations, and the Ukrainian air force maintains round-the-clock efforts to intercept incoming projectiles.
Zelenskyy warned on Sunday that unless the international community escalates its pressure on Moscow, “the cycle of destruction and death will continue.”
