London – Russia has launched more than 100 drones in Ukraine following the conclusion of a telephone call between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, said Ukraine Air Force, and as the world was waiting for Trump said that he was an immediate recovery of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
The Air Force of Ukraine wrote on Telegram that its forces shot 35 of the 108 Russian drones launched in the country during the night, with 58 other blocked or otherwise neutralized in flight. Air Force reported ground damage in four Ukrainian regions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces have shot down eight Ukrainian drones overnight.
The exchanges of cross -border drones occur almost at night and increased in size and sophistication throughout the 3 -year war. Monday evening’s dam came despite Trump’s last insurance that a peace agreement between the two parties is possible, after a telephone call with Putin which lasted two hours.
“I think something will happen,” Trump told journalists in the oval office after the call. “He is a very, very, very large ego involved, I tell you, big Egos involved. But I think something will happen. And if I thought President Putin did not want to end it, I would not even talk about it because I would retire.”
In this photograph of swimming pool distributed by the Russian state agency Spoutnik, Russian president Vladimir Putin was represented during an event in Sochi, Russia, May 19, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
Despite the failure of peace talks to date – including a chaotic meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul, Turkey last week – Trump seemed to be confident in success.
In an article on his Truth social website on Monday, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine will start “immediately” from negotiations to a cease-fire. Kyiv has repeatedly asked for a complete 30 -day break from fighting to facilitate peace talks. The Kremlin has so far dodged the proposal.
When asked if he asked Putin to meet him during the call on Monday, Trump replied: “Of course”.
“I said,” When are we going to end that, Vladimir? “,” Said Trump. “I said,” When are we going to finish this bloodshed, this, this bloodbath? “It’s a bloodbath.
Putin’s own statement has shown no sign of concessions. “The position of Russia is clear,” the president said in a media statement after the appeal. “The elimination of the deep causes of this crisis is what matters most for us,” said Putin, according to a reading of the Kremlin.
The threats of new Trump sanctions against Russia do not seem to have removed the Kremlin from its maximalist war objectives, which are mainly equivalent to Ukrainian capitulation.
These requests include the annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions – as well as the retention of Crimea, which Russia has entered in 2014 – the demilitarization of kyiv, a permanent block on Ukrainian membership in NATO and the “denazification” of the country – a nebulous request based on the false representation by Russia of the Ukrainian government as very long.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – with whom Trump also spoke on Monday – sought to present kyiv as ready and willing to make peace, rather framing Putin as the key obstacle to Trump’s desired agreement.
“This is a decisive period,” said Zelenskyy in a Telegram article on Monday. “Now the world can see if its leaders have the capacity to ensure the end of the war and the creation of a real lasting peace.”
“I confirmed to President Trump that we, in Ukraine, are ready for a complete and unconditional ceasefire, because the United States, in particular, spoke,” he continued.
A member of a mobile air defense volunteer unit stands next to a machine gun during a Russian drone attack in the kyiv, Ukraine region on May 18, 2025.
Stanislav Kozliuk / Reuters
“It is important not to dilute this offer. If the Russians are not ready to stop murders, there must be stronger sanctions for this. Pressure on Russia will encourage him to make real peace-this is obvious to everyone in the world,” he said.
“We must make sure that Russia is ready to organize such productive negotiations,” wrote Zelensyy.
If Putin drags or blocks real negotiations, Zelenskyy said: “America and the whole world behave accordingly, including by responding with additional sanctions. Russia must end the war it has started, and it can do it any day. Ukraine is still ready for peace.”
