Putin Turns Peace Efforts to Rubble

Europe must respond more rapidly and with greater determination to halt the Kremlin’s war of aggression.

By Nico Lange

Source: SES of Odesa Oblast

Unmoved by international efforts to achieve a ceasefire, Putin is intensifying air strikes on Kyiv and the Ukrainian hinterland. On the nights of May 24-26 alone, almost 1,000 Russian drones and missiles were fired. Many targeted civilian dwellings.

When President Trump responded by saying Putin had gone crazy, the Kremlin accused him of being over-emotional.

There is more craziness to come. Russia is now launching a long-planned offensive on four fronts in Eastern Ukraine. Tens of thousands of troops are involved, backed by thousands of drones and huge glide bombs that can wipe out whole trenches.

What is the situation, and what is needed?

Russia is intensifying combined air strikes with drones, decoys, cruise missiles, ballistic and aero-ballistic missiles. In recent months, it has significantly increased the mass production of Shahed drones, stockpiled missiles, and cruise missiles.

With new large-scale air strikes on Kyiv, Moscow continues to assert its claim to the whole of Ukraine. Putin thereby spits in the face of the US President and of Ukraine’s European allies, rejecting all efforts at negotiation, draft agreements, and compromise proposals.

Ukraine’s air defense cannot adequately counter the flood of improved Shahed drones, missiles, and cruise missiles; the sheer scale is simply too great. Many Western air defense systems lack ammunition. Unfortunately, it is to be expected that numerous Russian drones and missiles will penetrate the defenses, possibly in growing numbers.

The Kremlin’s apparent willingness to negotiate and join efforts to achieve a ceasefire was nothing more than a ploy. Putin is unmoved and is going ahead with a ground offensive that has been months in the planning.

Russian troops are attacking the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast. In the southeast, Russia is conducting attacks west of Pokrovsk toward the Dnipropetrovsk region and northeast of Pokrovsk toward Kostyantynivka in the north.

Kostyantynivka (formerly 25,000 inhabitants) is in danger of becoming a new Bakhmut. The Donbas city is threatened with complete destruction by Russian glide bombs and artillery in the coming months.

Territorial Control of Ukraine on May 27, 2025

Russia will not be able to achieve any breakthroughs or military decisions in the war with the planned attacks. However, the potential Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory in three additional administrative regions would further complicate the military and, above all, the political situation.

Just like last year, Russia is making advances toward Sumy and Kharkiv while conducting air strikes in a deliberate attempt to terrorize the civilian population and trigger new waves of refugees.

Ukraine needs ammunition for all its Western-supplied air defense systems and would be hugely helped by an expanded air defense over parts of western Ukraine with allied systems stationed on EU territory to relieve pressure and protect the civilian population.

Ukraine needs more combat aircraft that it can use to support air defense, such as the F-16 and Mirage 2000 aircraft already delivered.

In addition, systems are required to provide long-range fires to support air defense, which can threaten Russian airfields, launch pads, ammunition depots, and drone factories. Attempts to defend against all missiles and drones are a futile endeavor and too expensive overall.

Ukraine needs investment in domestic arms production, which can increase production volumes more quickly and with shorter delivery times than manufacturers in Europe. Europeans should rapidly push ahead with joint production, the relocation of mass production to Ukraine, and joint ventures.

Russia’s brusque rejection of any rapprochement and peace efforts must have consequences for Russia that go far beyond rhetoric. 

These include using the $230bn in seized Russian funds held in Europe, blocking the shadow fleet, canceling Russian Schengen visas, and preventing sanctions from being circumvented via third countries.

Ukraine needs practical support in contingency planning if US aid is terminated, including new contracts and new partnerships for satellite imagery, geodata, aerial reconnaissance, and maritime surveillance.

Europeans can still do a lot to improve Ukraine’s situation and restrict Russia. They should not, out of frustration over their failed hopes for a ceasefire, stand by passively and watch Putin implement his offensive plans.

The new German government should not, like its predecessor, treat the defense against Russia’s war of aggression as one issue among many, but should deploy people and structures that deal exclusively with this issue so that it can take the initiative and develop greater momentum.

Russia’s sharp political rhetoric needs targeted and swift countermeasures; Russian reports and statements should no longer be simply repeated.

Russia’s war of aggression is entering a phase in which, against the backdrop of Trump’s erratic behavior, Putin is deliberately raising the question of what the European declarations of solidarity, summit meetings, and statements are worth in practical terms.

It is now up to Europeans who are willing to act to help Ukraine push Putin back toward peace and give diplomatic efforts the necessary strength. If Europeans prove too weak, they will encourage Putin to continue reshaping the European order by military means.

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Nico Lange is a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He is also a Senior Fellow at the Munich Security Conference in Berlin and Munich and teaches military history at the University of Potsdam. Lange served as Chief of Staff at the German Ministry of Defense from 2019-2022. Article first time published on CEPA web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.