Russia strikes Ukraine with missiles and drones; Medvedev warned Kyiv has to accept peace terms or surrender
Russia launched a massive overnight assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing 7 and injuring many. As Zelensky urges more air defence, Medvedev says Ukraine must accept Russia’s peace terms or face surrender. Meanwhile, both sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners amid stalled talks.
Russia launched a mass aerial assault with drones for the second consecutive night in Kyiv and killing at least seven people, said Kyiv city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko. Visuals of citizens taking shelter in subway stations were evident on social media.
There were ballistic missiles and drones launched towards Ukraine, damaging civilian infrastructure and a dormitory.
Explosions were also heard throughout the night in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Konotop, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv, according to local officials and the news outlet Suspilne.
The Russian air defence unit also intercepted a dozen of Ukrainian drones that were flying towards Moscow at the early morning of May 25, according to Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
"Every night, our forces work to protect lives. Today, there was a large-scale and vile Russian attack. Ballistic missiles — some were successfully intercepted. There were also 250 drones, mostly Shaheds. I am grateful to everyone helping Ukraine with air defence. Delivering air defence systems to us means real protection for people — here and now," wrote Vlodomyr Zelensky in a post on X.
Earlier on May 24, Ukraine reported a barrage of ballistic missiles and 250 drones inside Kyiv. This latest set of aggression happened after both sides agreed to exchange large-scale prisoners of war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's defence ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians.
Following the call with US President Donald Trump on May 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement, “We agreed with thePresident oftheUnited States that Russia would propose andis ready toengage with theUkrainian side ondrafting amemorandum regarding apotential future peace agreement. This would include outlining arange ofprovisions, such astheprinciples forsettlement, thetimeframe forapossible peace deal, andother matters, including apotential temporary ceasefire, should thenecessary agreements be reached.”
Dimitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said that Ukraine has two options: "either accept the outlined peace terms or face unconditional surrender." Russia considers that the USSR was never completely dissolved, hence the Ukraine crisis is completely an internal matter.
In June 2024, President Putin outlined Russia’s conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine: Full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions. Formal renunciation of Ukraine’s NATO membership bid. On the other hand, Ukraine wants a full withdrawal of Russian security forces, territorial integrity, and financial reparation, as well as membership in NATO. Both parties have subsequently failed to agree on these terms despite third-party mediation by Turkey, China, the US and the Vatican.
