Putin Bombards Ukrainian Cities in Defiance of Trump's Ceasefire Deadline

Russia launched a massive overnight assault on Ukrainian cities just days after Donald Trump's 50-day ceasefire ultimatum, raising questions about the credibility of his threats and the future of the conflict.

Since the start of his second term, Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, blaming former President Joe Biden for its outbreak and insisting that his own diplomatic leverage could swiftly bring both sides to the table. But his latest tactic, a threat to impose 100 percent tariffs on Russia unless it agreed to a ceasefire within 50 days, has been largely dismissed by Kremlin officials as political theater.

Russian state media and high-profile allies like Dmitry Medvedev openly mocked the threat, with one official calling it a distraction from Trump's domestic political controversies.

Despite Trump's posturing, Russia went ahead with a large-scale attack Monday night into Tuesday, firing about 400 Shahed drones and one ballistic missile across multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Vinnytsia, according to the Daily Beast. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted most of the drones, but more than 50 got through, damaging infrastructure and killing at least two civilians.

A 17-year-old boy was among those critically injured, according to regional authorities.

The timing of the barrage underscored Moscow's open defiance of Trump's deadline. While the U.S. president said, "I don't think 50 days is very long," and hinted that he could act sooner, no additional consequences were announced.