After an unprecedented three-day wave of Russian aerial attacks in Ukraine over the weekend, the world is once again looking to U.S. President Donald Trump to take his first steps toward forcing Moscow to end its violence.
From May 24 to 26, Russian forces fired more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles across Ukraine, with the third night amounting to the single largest drone attack of the full-scale war.
In Ukraine, as well as being terrifying for those who experienced it, it was also a damning indictment of how ineffective the U.S.-led peace process has been so far.
"The Kremlin only understands the language of strength — sanctions, weapons, firm positions, and decisive action," Halyna Yanchenko, a lawmaker from the Servant of the People party, told the Kyiv Independent.
Since the attacks, Trump has used a lot of language, but is yet to show any strength. In a post on social media, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" and could be triggering "the downfall of Russia," adding he was "not happy" with him.
But despite the rhetoric, one glaring fact remains — after 127 days in office, Trump has still not ended a war he claimed he would end within 100 days, and has yet to take a single concrete step to pressure the one person refusing to agree to the ceasefire he himself proposed — Putin.
On May 26, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Trump is considering imposing sanctions on Russia this week, something he has previously opposed as it may hinder future business and trade opportunities.
A day later, Trump appeared to acknowledge the leverage he has over Putin but has so far failed to use, admitting in a post on social media that he was protecting Russia from "really bad things."
"What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean really bad. He's playing with fire," he wrote on Truth Social.
While Ukraine waits for Trump to finally follow through on his threats, there's no sign that Russia intends to stop the sort of mass missile and drone attacks that have rocked the country for years, but reached new levels of intensity over the weekend.
Russia has upgraded its ballistic missiles with radar decoys and evasive maneuvers, making them potentially harder to intercept even by Patriot air defenses, Ukraine's Air Force said on May 24.
Moscow's drone production continues to ramp up, with mass strikes employing ever more sophisticated tactics to reach Ukraine's cities.
"If we want that to change, we must cut off Russia’s ability to profit from war — by targeting its energy revenues, logistics, and military-industrial complex."
And on the front lines, Kyiv has repeatedly warned about the threat of a new major Russian offensive targeting Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts this spring and summer.
And if that wasn't evidence enough, Kremlin officials have since a call last week between Trump and Putin given up any pretence of being interested in negotiations with Ukraine, or in a ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying, "we don't want this anymore."
"The events of this past weekend are yet another reminder — you can’t make deals with Russia 'in a nice way,'" Yanchenko said.
"No so-called 'constructive dialogue' or diplomatic politeness works with an aggressor that has been waging war against Ukraine for 11 years. If we want that to change, we must cut off Russia’s ability to profit from war — by targeting its energy revenues, logistics, and military-industrial complex," she added.
"The faster and more decisively we limit the flow of money into Russia's economy, the more likely Putin is to abandon his imperialist goals."
With escalating aerial attacks on Ukraine, and Moscow gearing up for a renewed offensive, European capitals, particularly those geographically close to Russia, say the only way to end the war at this stage is through sanctions.
"Russia has repeatedly shown that it has no interest in peace. Its goal remains the destruction of Ukraine. This makes it clear that the pressure on Russia to stop the aggression has not been sufficient," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna told the Kyiv Independent.
Tsakhna highlighted preparations for the European Union’s 18th sanctions package, saying the "war will only end when Russia faces strong pressure and is deprived of the resources needed to continue its aggression."
"The faster and more decisively we limit the flow of money into Russia's economy, the more likely Putin is to abandon his imperialist goals," he added.
Finland’s Ambassador to Ukraine Tarja Fernández told the Kyiv Independent that the weekend's attacks showed that despite Trump's efforts to broker a peace in Ukraine, "nothing has changed in Moscow."
"Our basic line is to support Ukraine as long as needed and support further sanctions against Russia," she added.
French Senator Helene Conway-Moure told the Kyiv Independent it was essential that Europe "shows Russia that we are united" and step up sanctions that will "put an end to their war economy."
"These sanctions must be strong and respected, and must not only be imposed by the Europeans, but also by the Americans," she added.
There was a ray of hope among the gloom this week when on May 26, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hinted at developments in the long-range missiles supplied by Western nations.
"There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine — neither by the U.K., France, nor us. There are no restrictions by the U.S. either," he said.
Despite rowing back his statement a day later to clarify he was talking about the lifting of restrictions that happened last year, his use of the words "nor us" has once again opened up the debate over Germany's long-standing refusal to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.
But even this came up against the reality facing Ukraine's increasingly stretched resistance to Russia's full-scale invasion.
"It's good news that they have lifted these restrictions on the use of missiles," Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told the Kyiv Independent.
"But where are these missiles?"
Kollen Post
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