KYIV: Russia fired “355 Shahed-type drones” in the biggest-ever drone barrage on Ukraine on Monday, just hours after Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin “CRAZY” and warned Moscow risked fresh sanctions if it kept up its deadly bombardment.

The US president’s efforts to halt the three-year war have failed to extract major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between officials and several phone calls between him and Russia’s president.

For three consecutive nights Russia has pummelled Ukraine with large-scale drone attacks, saturating its air defences and killing 13 people on Sunday.

In a rare rebuke of the Russian leader, Trump said on social media late on Sunday: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!

“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”

Earlier, Trump told reporters he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2025