Russian Strikes on Ukraine are Retaliatory—Kremlin

Moscow is carrying out strikes on Ukrainian military-linked installations in response to Kiev’s attempts to launch drone raids on Russian civilian facilities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Ukraine significantly ramped up its strikes on Russia since a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump last week, which focused on attempting to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev launched hundreds of drones between Tuesday and Friday alone. On Monday, it said that more than 150 long-range Ukrainian drones had been downed in the span of just 24 hours.

In the wake of the escalation, Moscow announced a successful strike on a drone and missile production plant in Kiev as well as several other military targets.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov confirmed that the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine should be interpreted as a response. “We see the Ukrainians strike our social infrastructure facilities, civilian infrastructure. This is a retaliatory strike. And the strike is aimed at military facilities, on military targets,” he said.

Peskov also weighed in on comments made over the weekend by Trump, who claimed that Putin had “gone absolutely crazy” and that Moscow’s latest strikes are being carried out “for no reason whatsoever.”

The spokesman remarked that the start of the negotiation process—to which he said the US had contributed significantly—is a “very important moment which is fraught with emotional overload” on all sides. He also stressed that Putin makes decisions “required for the security of our country,” while recalling that Ukraine had openly “threatened” foreign leaders earlier this month before their arrival in Moscow for the celebrations marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Russia and Ukraine held talks in Istanbul earlier this month, which marked their first direct negotiations since 2022. The two sides agreed to discuss a potential follow-up meeting and to hold a record prisoner exchange, which was concluded on Sunday. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow is now working on a draft agreement to present to Kiev, which could pave the way for a sustainable conflict settlement.