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On December 30, 2025, Moscow claimed a Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened his country's military would launch "retaliatory strikes" and said Moscow's "negotiating position will be revised” in ongoing talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the claimed drone attack as “a complete fabrication”, and sources say the CIA assessed that Ukraine was not targeting the Russian leader's residence in the attack.
President Trump said in December that the U.S. was “very close” to a deal. So, what's happening?
Throughout the latest push for peace, Russia seems to conveniently reset the clock, demanding further talks as it continues its bombardments and assaults across Ukraine.
“This Russian strike sends an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities,” Zelensky said in a post on X referring to a strike on December 23 that killed three people and injured 12. Zeleneky condemned the attack “ahead of Christmas, when people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe.”
That strike came just days after Putin told Russian defense ministry officials that Moscow will persist in its mission to “liberate its historic lands” and achieve its war goals “unconditionally” — by negotiations for an agreement in Moscow’s favor, or through continued war.
The continued Russian attacks and Putin’s bellicose language underscore a pattern that has defined Russia’s position on “peace” throughout its full-scale invasion of Ukraine: not budging from maximalist demands, blaming Kyiv for the lack of progress, and leveraging Western fears of escalation to World War Three.
The hardline from Putin comes as Ukraine has offered significant concessions, including Ukraine dropping NATO membership ambitions, for at least the time being, as well as a potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east and the creation of a demilitarized “free economic zone.” The latest reports say Russia still wants more, including more stringent restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s military.
“The Ukrainians have been saying for over a year that they are ready to come to an agreement. They are ready to be realistic and compromise,” Glenn Corn, a former senior CIA Officer told The Cipher Brief. “It’s the Russians that are not doing that. It’s the Russians that continue to push maximalist demands and that continue to scuttle the peace process — not the Ukrainians.”
Through the eyes of seasoned intelligence professionals who have studied Putin's actions for decades, the continued attacks despite peace talks are hardly surprising. “Putin has never been sincere about a negotiated solution to his ‘Special Military Operation,’” said Rob Dannenberg, former Chief of CIA’s Central Eurasia Division.
Russia is also continuing offensive pushes on multiple fronts, including in the regions it claimed to annex - Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk, where the embattled strategic city of Pokrovsk is - as well as in the northern Kharkiv region. Experts warn Putin’s ambitions go far beyond.
“We've got Putin on the other side of it and the reality is he has not taken one single step towards a temporary ceasefire or a peace deal whatsoever,” General Jack Keane (Ret.), who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and is a trusted advisor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News. “Where he is, he still believes that eventually he's going to break the will and resolve of the United States and the Europeans and the Zelensky government and he will eventually have his way here,” Keane said, adding that Putin’s ultimate war goal is to “topple the government of Ukraine and expand into Eastern Europe.”
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A Tested Playbook
Russia has long used the pretense of openness to negotiations as a tool to deceive, delay, and fracture Western support for those Moscow is targeting. The pattern was visible in Georgia in 2008 and again in Crimea in 2014, when Moscow signaled willingness to talk even as it consolidated military gains on the ground, buying time and weakening Western responses.
“I always use the example of Syria during the Civil War when they [Russian forces] were killing members of the Syrian opposition while they were drinking wine and coffee with American and European interlocutors in Europe, claiming that they were trying to find an agreement,” Corn told The Cipher Brief.
Indeed, behind any Russian statement of openness to engagement and dialogue, Putin has continued to assert that Ukraine is part of Russia, that the government of Zelensky is illegitimate, and that Russian forces can achieve victory on the battlefield to justify his stonewalling — despite mounting costs for Russia and limited territorial gains.
“Putin’s strategy has been consistent: advance false narratives; adopt a non-negotiable maximalist position and make ever-increasing demands for concessions; take deliberate actions to erode U.S., Ukrainian, and NATO resolve and perceived options; employ implicit and explicit threats and intimidation; and offer false choices,” former CIA Senior Executive Dave Pitts told The Cipher Brief.
“Taken together, these represent Russian ‘reflexive control’—a subset of cognitive warfare and a strategy designed to persuade adversaries to voluntarily adopt outcomes favorable to Russia,” Pitts told us. “In the face of unreasonable sovereignty and territorial demands placed on Ukraine and none placed on Russia, an emboldened and confident Putin will now likely demand even more.”
A Hesitant West
How did we get here? Some experts say a long-running pattern of Western hesitation in keeping Russia in check has emboldened Moscow. It’s not hard to remember that at the start of the full-scale invasion, Western countries were slow to provide full military support to Ukraine, concerned about a possible wider escalation.
Retired General Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told The Cipher Brief, “We have taken precious little action to stop the fight in Ukraine and we still find ourselves saying, ‘We're not going to do that because we've got to give peace a chance and we don't want to escalate the problem.’ And that formula is not working now and has not worked for 11 years.”
“We have virtually enabled the Russian war on Ukraine by our lack of action in a more severe way. Many of us from military backgrounds say that we have built sanctuary for Russia. From that sanctuary, we allow them to attack Ukraine.”
Experts warn that while the goal should be, as President Donald Trump has said, “to stop the killing,” awarding concessions to a Kremlin that has yet to drop its maximalist war aims is not the solution.
“The Trump Administration’s desire to end the violence in Ukraine is commendable, but not at the price of setting the stage for the next war by giving victory to the aggressor,” Dannenberg told The Cipher Brief.
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The Road Ahead
With peace talks ongoing, it is proving difficult to come up with a deal that does not force Ukraine to give too much while ensuring the proposal does not push Russia to reject the deal outright.
But beyond the negotiating table, experts say there are ways to pressure Putin to peace.
Ukraine is not waiting, continuing strikes on Russian energy infrastructure to curb energy export revenues that fund Moscow’s war machine, and bringing the cost of the war back to ordinary Russians.
For the U.S. and Europe, major sanctions on Russia - including new measures against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil - are already in place and reportedly starting to take their toll, but experts say stronger enforcement is needed to make them truly bite.
Maintaining military aid to Ukraine is also essential. In mid-December, Congress passed a defense bill that authorizes $800 million for Ukraine - $400 million in each of the next two years - as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays U.S. companies to produce weapons for Ukraine's military. President Trump signed the measure into law on December 18. Meanwhile, while Europeans failed to agree to use frozen Russian assets to back a loan for Ukraine, the EU agreed to a 90 billion euro loan over the next two years, backed by the bloc’s budget.
"The Trump Administration should demonstrate its displeasure at Russia’s clear disregard for any so-called peace process by fully enforcing all existing sanctions, providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, and declaring that peace negotiations are suspended until Russia demonstrates it is serious about these negotiations," General Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, told The Cipher Brief. "Otherwise, the President’s efforts and those of his negotiators are clearly a waste of time and headed nowhere."
European countries have also fortified post-war pledges to Ukraine. Britain and France have committed to sending troops to a peacekeeping mission -- if a peace deal is reached. Experts U.S. intelligence, command and control, and logistics support is needed to give any European effort credibility.
The impact will be felt far beyond Ukraine, and long after the guns there go silent.
“For the United States, the best outcome will come from taking the longer, harder road that denies any reward for Russia’s illegal invasion, forces Putin to make reasonable concessions, and sustains the long-term sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” Pitts said. “That longer, harder road also leads to stronger U.S. national security.
Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief.
Vladimir Putin also appeared to reject any progress in ceasefire discussions. “The strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian forces,” he said.
Cut
On Friday, Putin said that Russia is facing a gas shortage. While he did not say why, the comment notably came amid Ukraine’s campaign to target Russian refineries, pipelines and other energy infrastructure.
In what could be seen as tacit support for Ukraine’s tactic, the Trump administration recently approved an $825 million sale of extended-range missiles to Ukraine. The State Department said this includes 3,350 ERAM missiles, which have a range of 250 miles, and 3,350 GPS units, missile containers, and other necessary equipment. The package is funded via financing from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, with some help from U.S. foreign military financing
In Europe, there is stalwart support for Ukraine, with around 26 countries of the so-called Coalition of the Willing committing last week to sending troops to Ukraine or training the Ukrainian military to help guarantee Ukraine’s postwar security.
And, of course, there is the option for the U.S. to act on its threat of sanctions if Russia does not move to an equitable peace deal. President Trump said on Sunday he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctions on Russia.
“The U.S. President has threatened Russia with ‘crushing’ sanctions. But Putin played ‘rope-a-dope’ and instead got a summit and postponement of sanctions for his efforts,” Dannenberg said. “President Trump has now set another deadline. The time for deadlines is over. It is time for action. … Let Ukraine take the war to the Russian Federation and make it visible to the people of Russia what is happening. If Putin doesn’t like it, let him end the war and withdraw from Ukrainian territory.”
“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media after the latest Kyiv strike.
Mounting Frustration
President Trump has expressed frustration with this charade from the Kremlin, especially given his investment in efforts to broker a peace deal. The U.S. President has complained that he is “very disappointed” in Putin since he “talks nice and then he bombs everybody.”
After the August 28 strikes on Kyiv, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “was not happy about this move, but he was also not surprised.”
Leavitt noted: “These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time. Russia launched this attack on Kyiv, and likewise, Ukraine recently dealt a blow to Russia’s oil refineries.” That was in reference to the recent spate of Ukrainian drone attacks at Russian oil and gas infrastructure. The difference there, experts say, is that Ukraine is targeting energy infrastructure to curb the revenues of Russia’s energy exports, which fuel its war machine. Russia has been striking Ukrainian infrastructure throughout the war, in addition to bombing Ukrainian civilians.
Russia on Sunday struck Ukraine with the largest aerial assault of the war so far. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched over 800 drones and fired 13 missiles in the attack, marking the most drones used against Ukraine in a single night. The bombardment killed at least five people across Ukraine and struck a landmark government building in Kyiv, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, for the first time.
This attack is just the latest in a series of Russian assaults. On August 28, Russian drones and missiles leveled a residential tower and damaged European Union diplomatic offices in Kyiv. Attacks in previous days destroyed energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has pushed further on the frontlines, entering the central Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in the war. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov claimed that the Russian army has accelerated its rate of advance.
The relentless assault is nothing new to Ukraine, but what makes the most recent attacks stand out is that they come amid a major U.S. and European push for peace.
On August 16, President Trump hosted Putin in Alaska to discuss how to end the fighting. Some analysts described this as the best opportunity the Russian leader had for a diplomatic offramp. Putin instead chose not to budge from his maximalist demands about Ukrainian sovereignty and territory and even floated post-war scenarios which are unacceptable to Kyiv, such as having Russia be a security guarantor.
Meanwhile, Putin continues to pound Ukraine. “At best he is ‘softening up’ the Ukrainian people so that they will be increasingly eager for a settlement - any settlement - to the war,” Ralph Goff, a former six-time CIA station chief, told The Cipher Brief. “At worst he is firmly set on destroying Ukraine militarily, economically and politically no matter the cost.”
Recent attacks
August 20-21: Russia launched third largest strike of the war
- 574 drones, 6 ballistic missiles, 33 cruise missiles
- Ukraine downed 546 drones, 1 ballistic missile, and 30 cruise missiles
- 11 locations were struck, many in western Ukraine including the U.S. electronics manufacturer
- At least one killed, dozens injured
- Strike was likely planned for some time
August 26-27: Russia targets energy infrastructure
- 95 drones launched, 74 drones downed
- 9 locations across northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine hit
- Caused power outages for more than 100,000 households
- Part of a larger campaign to degrade Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of Winter
August 28: Kyiv is struck
- 598 drones, 33 missiles
- At least 21 killed, 48 wounded at 33 different locations across the city
- European Union Mission to Ukraine facility damaged
- British Council facility severely damaged
That Kyiv strike drew widespread outrage in particular.
The continued attacks even amid the peace proces show insincerity of pUtin in talks.
Trump too has recognized this:
Trump “was not happy about this move, but he was also not surprised,” Leavitt said, reiterating that the president wants the bloodshed to stop but blamed both countries for the lack of progress in negotiations. “These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time. Russia launched this attack on Kyiv, and likewise, Ukraine recently dealt a blow to Russia’s oil refineries.”
Trump “expressed frustration over the lack of progress in negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia, signaling he will pause his involvement in the peace effort.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/23/trump-ukraine-frustration/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Trump noted frustration over Putin’s “friendly discussions followed by aggressive military actions,” and warned of “very big consequences” if a peace effort fails.
"Going to be bad for Russia... …if Putin doesn't agree to Ukraine talks; says ‘very serious what I have in mind’"
Trump complained last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin “ talks nice and then he bombs everybody.” But the latest attack on Kyiv drew no public condemnation from the Trump administration, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noting that Ukraine has been striking Russian oil refineries.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-attack-putin-trump-47e0fa10cded79063cf8cb9db7a2bcb7
EXperts agree:
ROB DANNENBERG
Putin has never been sincere about a negotiated solution to his Special Military Operation. He considers Ukraine part of Russia and Zelensky illegitimate. So with whom should he negotiate in his mind? Putin is even less inclined to negotiate since he has come to believe (incorrectly in my view) that he can win the war militarily. He allows the pretense of negotiation to create confusion and distraction in supporters of Ukraine in the West. Thereby, delaying military and economic support for Ukraine. By and large this strategy has worked thus far. Anchorage and its aftermath should have provided clarity that Putin is insincere about negotiations with Ukraine.
RALPH GOFF
The increased intensity of Russia strikes on cities across Ukraine - the Ukrainians recorded nearly 600 drones and 31 missiles of various types during the night of 27-28 August - clearly indicate Vladimir Putin has no real interest in agreeing to a ceasefire at present. Meanwhile, Russian ground forces literally inching their way forward in numerous sectors of the front- albeit at tremendous human cost - reportedly now of over 1,000,000 Russian soldiers killed, captured or seriously wounded ( by comparison around 15,000 Soviet Soldiers were killed in a decade of war in Afghanistan) - clearly indicate that Putin is not overly concerned with losses to Russia. Thus, it's hard to predict where Putin is going with this. At best he is " softening up" the Ukrainian people so that they will be increasingly eager for a settlement - any settlement - to the war. At worst he is firmly set on destroying Ukraine militarily, economically and politically no matter the cost. Meanwhile, neither the US administration nor our European Allies have developed and presented a cogent strategy for either continuing the war or seeking an armistice. Putin, who has never really been held accountable by any US administration or by the Europeans , has no real reason to stop at this time.
GLEN CORN
They will continue to launch strikes, try and take territory while they're going to a negotiation negotiating table. So they've done that. The tactic they've used in the past, and I always use the example of Syria during the Civil War when they were killing members of the Syrian opposition while they were drinking wine and coffee with American and European interlocutors in Europe, claiming that they were trying to find an agreement.”
Damage to Ukraine:
The United Nations currently estimates that as of 31 December 2024, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is $524 billion (€506 billion) over the next decade, which is approximately 2.8 times the estimated nominal GDP of Ukraine for 2024.
More than three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has already inflicted over $175 billion in direct damage to the country’s buildings and infrastructure, according to the latest estimates from the World Bank. This marks a $23 billion increase in damage compared to the previous year’s assessment. The data comes from the fourth Ukraine Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), which covers the period from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2024.
Part of problem: Western inaction
Breedlove
“We remain deterred. In the press you hear people talking about this war being three and a half years long. This war is over 11 years long. It started in the spring of '14 when I was still serving as the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, and it hasn't stopped. It was hot for a few years and then it went warm. Russians were killing Ukrainians and Ukrainians were killing Russians on the line of contact. And then, after some six years or so of that warm war on the line of contact, Russia re-invaded, and I call this the third phase of the 11-year-long war.
This war has covered four presidents, Obama, Trump twice and Biden once, and all four of them have been nearly and completely deterred from the very beginning. We, as we always do in the military, offered options for how to address this conflict in Ukraine back in 2014. And the answer was, "We're not going to take any action because the war will escalate if we take action." Well, we gave them options from very small movements to larger more bellicose movements, they chose none of them and here we are. What we do know is we did not take action for fear of escalation. We were deterred and we didn't take action and Russia escalated anyway. And so our lack of action ended up in the escalation of the problem by the Russians. And that has repeated itself through four administrations for the past 11 years. We are still deterred. We have taken precious little action to stop the fight in Ukraine and we still find ourselves saying, "We're not going to do that because we've got to give peace a chance and we don't want to escalate the problem." And that formula is not working now and has not worked for 11 years.
We have virtually enabled the Russian war on Ukraine by our lack of action in a more severe way. Many of us from military backgrounds say that we have built sanctuary for Russia. From that sanctuary, we allow them to attack Ukraine. If you can think of a map, up in the northwest corner of the map is Belarus all the way to the east around through Russia all the way to the south, into the Black Sea and west across the Black Sea. We have allowed Russia to attack Ukraine from nearly 300 degrees on the map, and we still cannot determine that we should allow Ukraine to fire back deeply into Russia with our kit.”
Solution: pressure on Russia
CORN
““So what does this mean for the US and for Europe? I think this now, it's just a sign that, I mean, I've said this before, I've written it. I give President Trump a lot of credit for trying to find a solution for this very serious problem. But I think now is the time where the only thing that Putin is going to understand, and the only way that he will stop doing what he's doing is if he feels pain.”
“He understands that there is a serious consequence for him and the people around him for what he is doing, and the only thing that's going to make him be anything close to sincere is when he understands that he's dealing with interlocutors that are very serious and that are willing to stand up and respond forcefully for this type of aggressive action, which is insulting to those people, including our president, who have tried to negotiate a ceasefire and a peace agreement.”
- Sanctions, ukraine air defenses, kick out children of russian oligarchs studying in us, london, paris
DANNENBERG:
The U.S. President has threatened Russia with “crushing” sanctions. But Putin played “rope-a-dope” and instead got a summit and postponement of sanctions for his efforts. President Trump has now set another deadline. The time for deadlines is over. It is time for action. The only path that has not been tried (but has only been threatened) is to put maximum pressure on Putin and the Russian Federation.
Here’s how we get there: first, the President should immediately authorize the advancement of pending legislation in the U.S. Congress on sanctions on Russia and purchasers of Russian hydrocarbon products.
Second, the President should use his authority to advance the sale or “lend lease” of military support for Ukraine.
Third, the U.S. should remove any restrictions on Ukrainian use of weapons systems already provided or already committed to help Ukraine defend itself. Let Ukraine take the war to the Russian Federation and make it visible to the people of Russia what is happening. If Putin doesn’t like it, let him end the war and withdraw from Ukrainian territory.
And fourth, the U.S. should restore maximum diplomatic isolation of Russia and publicly call out Russia as the aggressor in this conflict.
In this context, the success President Trump had ending the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict should be leveraged to reduce Russian influence in the Republic of Georgia, long a bastion of pro-U.S. sentiment but recently put under a cloud of Russian interference.
Let the loss of influence in the Caucasus be added to the list of Putin’s strategic failures. Put it on the list right next to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
Sanctions alone won’t influence Putin, but sanctions, renewed military and financial support for Ukraine, renewed diplomatic isolation, and strategic leverage on Russia’s periphery might.
The path ahead should be clear to the U.S. President, who must now know that he can’t trust Putin. The Russian president is the enemy of the U.S. in every fiber of his being and it’s time for him to pay the price of his folly.
Breedlove
“Sanctions have never changed Putin's actions on the battlefield. Sanctions have hurt Russia. Sanctions have hurt the Russian people. Sanctions have hurt the Russian economy. All those things are true, but they have never changed Russian actions on the battlefield. And so, we either need to double and triple the really crushing sanctions and take all of the frozen Russian money and use it to help Ukraine. We've got to physically stop the Russian shadow fleet from moving oil around the world. There's a whole host of things we could do that would truly bring Russia to their knees and we haven't done it.”
Note on security guarantees
Breedlove: “It's a confusing issue about what America is going to do or not do in any possible peace-enforcement capacity. The best move right now, not under a NATO hat, because clearly, Mr. Putin believes he's in charge and he said there will be no NATO involvement, but if NATO or European Union nations were to volunteer for a coalition of the willing presence in Ukraine, then that's what, I think, needs to happen. We need the big nations- the UK, the French, the Germans, to step up but they're waiting and watching for American leadership. Is America going to be that backbone and offer what the president talked about in his post-talk news conference and so forth? We need for all of that to happen. We need for America to make a decision to supply air power, command and control, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, et cetera, those non-boots on the ground capabilities. And then, we need the European nations who've already intimated they may be willing to provide boots on the ground to get in there and get a stoppage of the fighting.
Mr. Putin’s entire objective however is to keep kicking the can to the right, run right up to the red line, wave a bright shiny object, get another red line, run right up to the red line, wave another shiny object, get another deadline. He is very good and has had great success at moving our red lines to the right.”
FROM THE UKRAINIAN EMBASSY
On the night of August 28 (starting from 19:30 on August 27), the enemy launched a massive strike on the territory of Ukraine using attack UAVs, air-launched and ground-launched missiles – a total of 629 aerial attack assets:
- 598 Shahed-type attack UAVs and decoy drones of various types launched from Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, Orel, Shatalovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), and Hvardiiske (temporarily occupied Crimea);
- 2 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aero-ballistic missiles from the airspace of Lipetsk and Voronezh regions (Russia);
- 9 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from Bryansk and Voronezh regions (Russia);
- 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles from the airspace of Saratov region (Russia).
The main target of the Russian strike was Kyiv, where the majority of drones and missiles were directed.
In Odesa region, due to missile threats and the “transit” flight of Shahed groups, the first air raid alert lasted from 23:00 to 01:18. The second alert was from 03:52 to 06:02 – exactly when the Russians launched aero-ballistic, ballistic, and cruise missiles.
According to preliminary data, as of 09:00, Ukrainian air defense forces shot down/suppressed 589 aerial targets:
- 563 Shahed-type UAVs and decoy drones of various types;
- 1 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aero-ballistic missile;
- 7 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles;
- 18 Kh-101 cruise missiles.
The overall effectiveness of air defense is estimated at approximately 93%:
- Against Shaheds – 94%;
- Overall against missiles – 83%;
- Against cruise missiles – 90%;
- Against ballistic and aero-ballistic missiles – 72%.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on “X”:
Now, as our people are dealing with the consequences of one of the most large-scale Russian terrorist attacks, we see yet another attempt by Hungarian officials to portray black as white and to shift the blame for the ongoing war onto Ukraine. In Ukraine, we responded positively to all proposals from the world regarding a ceasefire and real diplomacy, and the only one who rebuffed them was Russia. Unfortunately, there has still been no fair reaction from Hungary to such behavior by Russia. Nor has there even been sympathy expressed over the deaths of our people – just last night alone, in Kyiv, Russian drones and missiles took the lives of 17 people, including 4 children. Yet every day we hear new accusations against Ukraine coming from Hungary. Hungarian officials have gone so far as to attempt to discriminate against members of the Hungarian community in Ukraine for their participation in the defense of our state and our people. If Hungary has indeed closed entry into Hungary and the entire Schengen zone to one of Ukraine’s military commanders, who is an ethnic Hungarian and a citizen of Ukraine, this can only cause outrage. I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to clarify all the facts and respond accordingly.
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1961047854639935814
Right now in Kyiv, first responders are clearing the rubble of an ordinary residential building after a Russian strike. Another massive attack against our cities and communities. Killings again. Tragically, at least 8 people have already been confirmed dead. One of them is a child. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. People may still be trapped under the rubble. Dozens are wounded. These Russian missiles and attack drones today are a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy. Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war. And this means that Russia still does not fear the consequences. Russia still takes advantage of the fact that at least part of the world turns a blind eye to murdered children and seeks excuses for Putin. We expect a reaction from China to what is going on. China has repeatedly called for not expanding the war and for a ceasefire. Yet this is not happening because of Russia. We expect a reaction from Hungary. The death of children should definitely stir far greater emotions than anything else. We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions. And it is definitely time for new, tough sanctions against Russia for everything it is doing. All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined. Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war. Eternal memory to all victims of Russia!
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1960934028321685907
Prime minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko on “X”:
As of now, already 14 people are known to have been killed as a result of the Russian attack, including 3 children. The horrific and deliberate killing of civilians, again. The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only constant expansion of atrocities. Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were hit: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located. Russians now believe that they have paralyzed Ukraine's allies with feigned plans for "negotiations" and endless delays that only serve as methods to buy time with the true goal only of preventing sanctions. It is crucial now that the world responds firmly. Russia must be stopped. New and stronger sanctions are needed. The Russians understand only strength and pressure. For every strike, Moscow must feel the consequences.
https://x.com/Svyrydenko_Y/status/1960995612989563198
There are currently over 500 rescue workers and 1,000 police officers engaged in rescue efforts across Kyiv in the aftermath of yet another brutal Russian missile and drone attack on our capital city. With the possibility that the death toll may still rise, there are already at least 8 confirmed dead – among them 1 kid – and dozens injured after an assault that lasted more than nine hours. Russians targeted residential buildings, shopping areas, a school: purely civilian targets. Russia has merely used the good intentions of Ukraine's allies to buy more time, to expand the killing – simply mass murder.
https://x.com/Svyrydenko_Y/status/1960936422937858118
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha on “X”:
Following the barbaric Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital, it was important to visit, together with heads of 55 foreign diplomatic missions, the site of one of the strikes, a ruined residential building in the Darnytskyi district. This is a site of a horrible war crime. At least 14 innocent civilians were killed by Russian terrorists here, including four children. One of the kids was born under Russian strikes in 2022 and killed by the Russian strike this morning. I am grateful to my colleague, Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Klymenko, who briefed foreign diplomats on the casualties and recovery efforts. It is critical that the world sees Russian terror and takes action to stop this barbarism. I thank all foreign diplomats who joined us today in commemorating the victims of Russian strikes. Russia is a terrorist state. We count on strong international responses and action to increase pressure on Russia, including new tough sanctions, and strengthen support for Ukraine.
https://x.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1961010371046834689
We insist on strong international reactions to Russia’s brutal strike on Kyiv and other cities. Russia killed at least 8 people, including a child, and targeted civilian infrastructure. Whatever Putin said in Alaska, his real actions reject diplomacy, dialogue, and peace efforts.
https://x.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1960945855780765705
This is a residential home in Kyiv ruined by Russia. People may still be under the rubble. This horrific sight proves that Putin will only stop when faced with pressure and strength. We urge public condemnation and action: new sanctions on Russia and strengthening for Ukraine.
https://x.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1960945881366098006
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak on “X”:
Everything you need to know about the terrorist state, Putin, and their so-called “desire” for peace.
https://x.com/AndriyYermak/status/1960894814313992619
Kyiv city center. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged as a result of a Russian attack on the city.
https://x.com/AndriyYermak/status/1960981276703236533
In Kyiv, Russia has already killed 15 people, including 4 children. https://x.com/AndriyYermak/status/1961014915176505695
Statement of the UCCRO on the latest Russian terrorist attacks against Ukrainian cities
On the night of August 27–28, 2025, the Russian state once again launched terrorist attacks against the cities of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other Ukrainian towns. As a result of missile and drone strikes, civilians — including children — were killed and wounded. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten, were destroyed or damaged; hundreds of people lost their homes, and thousands of Ukrainians endured the terror of nighttime assaults.
The dictatorial Russian regime has once again exposed its inhumane nature and its criminal, genocidal policy.
We strongly condemn the latest terrorist attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian cities and villages, which once again confirm its nature as a terrorist state. Any support now extended to the Russian Federation is, in fact, support for murderers and criminals, and carries with it undeniable moral responsibility. Money earned through business with Russia today is stained with the blood of innocent victims, and that blood cries out to Heaven for just retribution.
We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and pray for all those who have suffered at the hands of Russian terrorists.
We also take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to all religious leaders, believers of different denominations, and people of goodwill for their unwavering support of the Ukrainian people, for their prayers for an end to Russian military aggression, and for their commitment to the establishment of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and Europe.
UNITED24 Media
«Russian forces deliberately targeted a residential building with a "doube-tap" strike during the latest attack, CCTV footage shows. After the first missle struck, moments later a second one hit the same building.» https://x.com/United24media/status/1960954631049089344
Ukrainian railways
The results of the overnight Russian attack. This train was supposed to depart today to take passengers to Kharkiv. https://x.com/Ukrzaliznytsia/status/1960991006381195299
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