Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

More now from the Kremlin's press briefing.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the latest massive aerial assaults on Ukraine are a response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian infrastructure.

“We have seen how the Ukrainians have been hitting our social infrastructure, peaceful infrastructure. This is a response strike. It’s a strike against military facilities, military targets,” he said.

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor, reporting from Moscow

Image source, Getty Images

On today’s Kremlin conference call, I asked Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov how concerned he was by Donald Trump’s criticism of the Russian president, including his comment that Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" with his continued attacks on Ukraine.

Peskov replied: “Of course, the start of the negotiation process, for which the American side made a lot of effort, is a very important achievement and we are truly grateful to the Americans and personally to President Trump for their help in organising and launching this negotiation process.

"It’s a very important achievement. Of course, at the same time this is a very important moment which is connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved and emotional reactions.

"We carefully monitor all the reactions. However, President Putin takes those decisions which are necessary for the security of our country.

"We all witnessed how the Kyiv regime threatened foreign leaders before they came to Moscow to commemorate Victory Day. Everyone heard these threats by the Kyiv regime.

"And many leaders who were here witnessed attempts by the Kyiv regime to strike Russian territory with drones, large cities, even the capital, on the eve of such an important day. These attempts continue. We are forced to take measures and President Putin does what is necessary to provide security for Russia.”

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Russia’s plans regarding Ukraine remain unchanged and it's planning to establish “full control” over its territory, the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service says.

Speaking in an interview with local media, external, Gen Oleh Ivashchenko says the Kremlin’s immediate objective is fully capturing four Ukrainian regions it partly controls – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporihzhia and Kherson.

“But wanting to do it doesn’t mean they can do it,” Ivashchenko says. “They’re exhausted technologically, economically and diplomatically... towards the end of this year, we’re expecting serious problems in the Russian economy, money and workforce problems.”

By engaging in peace talks, the Russians are “playing for time in order to regroup”, Ivashchenko says.

“Russia has no intention of stopping this war. In their heads, they’re recreating the Soviet Union using the army,” he adds.

Ivashchenko also says that the Ukrainian army still maintains a presence in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions.

A welcome threat?published at 10:16 British Summer Time 26 May

10:16 BST 26 May

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Image source, Getty Images

While President Zelensky was on the receiving end of another verbal dressing down from Donald Trump, he got the reaction he was looking for.

In the same post in which Trump criticised Vladimir Putin, he also said Zelensky was "doing his country no favours by talking the way he does".

Over the weekend Ukraine’s leader said “American silence” would only encourage Russia to keep fighting. By that he meant further US sanctions.

For only the second time, Donald Trump threatened them if Russia kept dragging its heels in the ceasefire talks he is trying to oversee.

The belief in Kyiv is that Russia’s war machine is not being strangled enough to curb its continued invasion. Vladimir Putin isn’t compromising on his demands for peace, because he’s not being pressured to.

Volodymyr Zelensky still cannot afford another falling out with his US counterpart, partly because he still hopes to buy American military aid in the future.

With Russia now routinely launching hundreds of drones, Ukraine wants more of the US-made air defence systems designed to keep them out. Its current ones also need more ammunition.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Donald Trump has consistently claimed he has a good relationship with Vladimir Putin - and he did so again in the first line of a Truth Social post, external on Sunday.

But this cordiality soon gave way. By the second sentence, Trump was describing Putin as having gone "absolutely CRAZY!"

It's not the first time the US president has scolded the Russian leader. Here's a look back at some other occasions:

13 March

Following talks between Ukrainian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia - during which the two sides agreed to push for a 30-day truce - Trump said he hoped Putin would "do the right thing" and agree, or risk "a very disappointing moment for the world".

30 March

Putin refused to engage with the proposal, questioning Zelensky's legitimacy as leader. In response, Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” with his Russian counterpart.

In a phone interview with NBC, Trump also threatened secondary tariffs “on all oil coming out of Russia” if a failure to reach a ceasefire was deemed to be Russia’s fault.

24 April

After a Russian missile strike on Kyiv killed 12 people, Trump delivered one of his sharpest rebukes to date.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!” he wrote on Truth Social.

26 April

Days later, he posted again, saying “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns.

He added: "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!”

8 May

Trump again threatened "further sanctions" should Russia not agree to a ceasefire.

25 May

Trump called Putin "absolutely crazy" and asked "what the hell happened to him" after a weekend of heavy aerial assaults on Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

As we just reported, Ukraine's air force says last night saw a record drone attack from Russia, with 355 drones launched, as well as nine missiles.

In terms of drones and missiles, it was the second-biggest Russian aerial attack on Ukraine ever.

The worst aerial attack was the night before, which involved 367 drones and missiles (298 drones and 69 cruise and ballistic missiles).

Trump says 'something happened' to Putin - but he's always been like thispublished at 09:41 British Summer Time 26 May

09:41 BST 26 May

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

To anyone who has been watching Vladimir Putin since he came to power a quarter of a century ago, he’s not changed much, only become bolder and more aggressive.

His forces attacked Ukraine 11 years ago, demonstrating chilling disregard for human life. For instance, at the very beginning, in 2014, they killed more than 360 Ukrainian troops after going back on earlier agreements which would have allowed them to pull out of the eastern town of Ilovaysk.

Similarly, Russia never acknowledged let alone apologised for supplying the missile that shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

What followed were years of Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine, which resulted in whole cities being destroyed and hundreds of thousands of lives lost.

Putin has consistently denied Ukraine the right to exist as an independent nation. In the run-up to the full-scale invasion of 2022, he penned an article “on the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians, external”, and more recently referred to Ukrainians as “the Ukrainian part of the Russian people, external”.

The increase in Russia’s attacks on civilians in Ukraine is a result of his growing ambitions, but also of Western politicians failing to respond over the years.

In new figures, Ukraine's air force says Russia launched 355 drones and nine missiles at Ukraine overnight on Sunday into Monday morning.

A spokesperson tells Reuters news agency this was the largest drone attack of the war so far.

The air force says that all missiles launched last night were shot down, while 288 UAVs and drones were "neutralised".

On Saturday night into Sunday morning, Ukraine says 298 drones and 69 missiles were launched by Russia.

It's just turned 09:00 BST in London, and 11:00 in Kyiv and Moscow. If you're just joining us, here's the latest:

• Donald Trump has called Vladimir Putin "absolutely CRAZY" following a weekend of major Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine
• "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," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday
• Though his ire was directed in the main at the Russian president, Trump also had stern words for Zelensky, saying he was "doing his country no favours by talking the way he does"
• On Saturday night, Russia fired 367 drones and missiles at Ukraine - its biggest aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022. At least 12 people were were killed
• It appeared Moscow's attacks had slowed on Sunday night, though we're still waiting on exact figures

• Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said it destroyed and intercepted 96 Ukrainian drones across twelve regions - including Moscow - overnight

Stay with us for further updates.

Image source, Getty Images

A Ukrainian MP has urged Donald Trump to impose further sanctions on Russia after this weekend saw Moscow launch its biggest aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion.

Following the attack - which killed at least 12 people - Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "America's silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin".

The Ukrainian president "is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does", Trump later said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezkho says Trump must deliver on his promise to end the war in Ukraine.

"When Trump is talking about walking away or washing his hands of Ukraine, it's like leaving the maniac and the victim face-to-face," he says.

He adds: "I'm under the impression that President Trump is trying to avoid imposing sanctions on Russia and trying to find pretext to blame Ukraine."

Meanwhile, in Russia, the defence ministry says it destroyed and intercepted 96 Ukrainian drones across twelve regions overnight, the Tass news agency reports.

This includes six drones shot down over the Moscow region, it adds.

The governors of the Oryol and the Ryazan regions confirmed there had been casualties.

Image source, Reuters

Kyiv has been attacked by Russian drones for a third night in a row, the head of the city's military administration says.

In a post on Telegram, Timur Tkachenko says strikes on Sunday night into Monday caused damage in the Dnipro district of the Ukrainian capital.

"Windows were broken in one of the residential buildings. Also, falling debris was recorded on the territory of a garage cooperative and a recreation facility," Tkachenko adds.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties," he says.

Adam Easton
Warsaw correspondent

Warsaw has scrambled its own and allied aircraft to secure the country’s airspace during Russian strikes on neighbouring Ukraine, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command says.

“This is the second very busy night in a row for the entire air defence system in Poland, due to the observed renewed activity of the Russian Federation’s long-range aviation carrying out missile strikes on facilities located in the territory of Ukraine,” it says in a brief statement on X.

It is worth noting that the Operational Command routinely issues such a statement when Russian missile strikes target western Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Leading our coverage this morning is Trump's latest rebuke of Vladimir Putin.

Though his ire was directed in the main at the Russian president, Trump also had stern words for Zelensky.

He "is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does", he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

"Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop," he added.

The relationship between the US and Ukrainian leaders has been turbulent since Trump's return to the White House, culminating in an on-camera row in the Oval Office in February.

Image source, Getty Images

Saturday night into Sunday morning saw Russia's biggest aerial assault on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles.

Ukraine's Air Force said it was able to down 266 drones and 45 missiles. But it warned that "most regions of Ukraine" were affected by the attack.

On Sunday night, attacks from Moscow continued - although seemed more limited.

Ukraine's Air Force reported incursions by Shaheed drones and UAVs through the night, but said the threat had been repelled for all regions by around 05:00 BST (07:00 local time).

This morning, the state emergency service is sharing pictures of buildings on fire in Odesa, where it says a residential building was destroyed by Russian drones.

US President Donald Trump says he is "not happy" with Vladimir Putin, following Moscow's largest aerial attack yet on Ukraine at the weekend.

Posting on social media platform, Truth Social, Trump says: "I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him.

"He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers."

Trump adds: "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!"

In separate comments to reporters on Sunday night, Trump said: "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."

Asked if he was considering more sanctions on Russia, Trump said: "Absolutely."

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's patience with Vladimir Putin appears to be wearing thin.

"Absolutely CRAZY," was his characterisation of the Russian president in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

It comes after at least 12 people were killed in overnight Russian attacks on Saturday into Sunday.

Ukraine said 367 drones and missiles were fired at the country, making it the biggest aerial assault in a single night since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

As of this morning, Russia’s attacks appear to have slowed down overnight, but we're still waiting for exact figures.

Meanwhile, the defence ministry in Moscow says its forces downed 96 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Stay with us for further updates.