Russia has bombarded Ukrainian cities with large-scale drone and missile attacks in defiance of President Donald Trump’s 50-day ceasefire deadline.
Around 400 one-way attack drones and a ballistic missile were unleashed on the central cities of Kryvyi Rih and Vinnytsia and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where at least two people were killed, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s air force said they were able to shoot down most of the incoming drones, but the missile and around 57 drones still managed to hit the cities across the country.
Kharkiv, under relentless Russian assault for months, endured around 17 explosions in just 20 minutes during the peak of the overnight strikes, according to the Kyiv Independent, which cited social media posts from the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. A 17-year-old boy was reported to have suffered serious injuries during the raid on Kryvyi Rih.
The latest wave of attacks came after Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he’d impose “very severe” 100 percent tariffs unless Moscow agreed to a ceasefire within 50 days.
“We’re very, very unhappy with him,” a frustrated Trump said of Putin on Monday.
Trump, who vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of returning to the White House, offered no explanation for his seemingly arbitrary 50-day deadline to pressure Putin into ending the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3-1/2 years.
Russia quickly brushed off the threat from the U.S. president, who’s earned the nickname “TACO Trump” [Trump Always Chickens Out] for his notorious flip-flopping on tariff threats.
“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care,” the former Russian president and close Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev posted on X.
State Duma deputy Boris Chernyshov also appeared on Russian television Monday to suggest Trump’s threat was merely a distraction attempt to shift headlines away from the MAGA backlash over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Trump has become more vocal in his criticism of Putin as the Russian leader ignores his pleas to end the invasion. He’s also vowed to send more military aid to Ukraine to fight off Russian aggression.
On Tuesday, Trump was pressed on why he’d give Putin nearly two more months to bomb Ukrainian cities and kill civilians before negotiating a peace deal.
“I don’t think 50 days is very long. It could be sooner than that,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “You should have asked that same question to [former President Joe] Biden. Why did he get us into this war? You know why he got us in? Because he’s a dummy, that’s why.”
