Russia Hits Ukraine with Largest-Ever Air Attack, Warns Kyiv of More Strikes as U.S. Halts Peace Talks
Between the night of May 23 and the early hours of May 24, 2026, Russia launched its largest retaliatory aerial assault on Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on May 24.
RUSSIA,POLITICS
Global N Press
5/26/20261 min read
Between the night of May 23 and the early hours of May 24, 2026, Russia launched its largest retaliatory aerial assault on Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on May 24. The operation deployed Oreshnik and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, Zircon cruise missiles, Iskander ballistic missiles, and drones against Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases, and defense industry enterprises, with all designated targets reportedly hit. According to Ukrainian officials, the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 83.
On May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry escalated its posture by issuing an official notification that Russian forces would carry out a series of strikes against Ukraine‘s military-industrial complex in Kyiv, including decision-making centers and command posts, while warning foreign citizens to leave the capital and urging Kyiv residents to stay away from military and administrative infrastructure.
The ministry justified the escalation by citing a Ukrainian drone attack on May 22 that struck a school building and dormitory in Luhansk, describing it as a deliberate strike on civilians, including children, and declaring that Ukraine’s actions had exhausted Russia‘s patience. The same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, informing Washington of Russia’s plans for systematic strikes on Ukrainian military facilities in Kyiv, a notification Ukraine‘s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced on May 26 as “brazen provocation.”
On May 26, Secretary Rubio announced that the United States was suspending its participation in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while revealing that Russia had formulated counterproposals to a 27-point American plan for resolving the conflict. The escalation unfolded against a backdrop of parallel military posturing: NATO conducted its Dynamic Mongoose-2026 exercise in the North Atlantic, while Russia and Belarus simultaneously staged nuclear exercises that included test launches of nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles. The convergence of these events has produced the most dangerous confrontation between Russia and the Western alliance in months, with diplomatic channels narrowing as military activity intensifies across multiple theaters.
