Jul. 05, 2025 |
‘Vladimir, STOP!’ Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war in Ukraine against Kyiv on July 3-4, killing one person and injuring at least 23 others in a massive assault involving 539 drones and 11 missiles. The attack lasted from early evening until dawn, forcing families to shelter in underground metro stations as acrid smoke hung over the city center. Kyiv officials reported damage to about 40 apartment blocks, railway infrastructure, five schools and kindergartens, and numerous vehicles across six districts.
The attack happened just hours after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Trump said there was “no progress at all” on efforts to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “deliberately massive and cynical,” noting that air-raid sirens began blaring at the same time as news of the Trump-Putin call came out.
It’s a striking sequence of events—that pose a fundamental question about the American president’s approach to ending the conflict: Can diplomatic engagement with his Russian counterpart effectively de-escalate the war, or is the outreach to Putin just providing cover for more escalation?
Which is it?