Russia launched 450 drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing two. Trump is to put steep tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, Sen. Graham warns. French foreign minister visits a damaged metro station in Kyiv.
Russia launches 450 drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing two
Russia carried out a mass missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Monday, killing two people and injuring 15 others across the country.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had launched a total of 426 Shahed and decoy drones as well as 24 missiles toward Ukraine, including five Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, four Kalibr sea-launched cruise missile, an Iskander-K ground-launched cruise missile and 14 Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or otherwise neutralized 224 drones (including 200 Shaheds) and all missiles. Another 203 decoy drones disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.
The vast majority of missiles were shot down with the rest being jammed, the Air Force said. Twenty-three attack drones hit target in three locations, and drone debris fell in 12 sites, it added.
In the capital Kyiv, one person was killed and seven others were wounded, including a 15-year-old girl, the city’s mayor Vitaliy Klychko said. The attack caused damage to Lukyanivska metro station, a multi-story apartment building, kindergarten, warehouse and administrative building.
In and around the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine, infrastructure facilities were damaged in what the city’s mayor Ruslan Martsynkiv said was the largest attack of the war.
In response to the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on X: “Russian strikes are always an assault on humanity — in Kyiv, a kindergarten caught fire, along with residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure. Ordinary apartment buildings were damaged in Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and the region. 15 people have been injured, the youngest is a 12-year-old boy. Everyone is receiving assistance. Two people were killed in the attack. My condolences to their families and loved ones.”
Trump is to put steep tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, Sen. Graham warns
U.S. President Donald Trump is going to put tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, including China, Brazil and India, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News on Sunday.
“Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil. China, India and Brazil, those three countries buy about 80 per cent of cheap Russian oil,” Graham said. “That’s what keeps Putin’s war machine going.”
He added: “And Putin, your turn is coming. You know, Donald Trump is a Scottie Scheffler [U.S. golfer. — edit.] of American politics and foreign diplomacy and he’s about to put a whoopin’ on your ass.”
Russia’s oil price in roubles has fallen to a two-year low below the 4,000 rouble per barrel mark and some 40% lower than planned in the federal budget, data showed, piling pressure on the Kremlin, already saddled with a burgeoning budget deficit, Reuters said on May 6. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
According to Reuters calculations, the average price of Russia’s mix of Urals and ESPO blends dipped on May 2 to $48.92 per barrel, or 3,987 roubles, which is more than 40% below the 6,726 roubles the government had originally planned for this year. That’s the lowest since May 2023, according to Reuters data.
The fall in the prices of energy, which account for a third of Russia’s federal budget proceeds, prompted the government last week to hike the 2025 budget deficit estimate to 1.7% of gross domestic product from 0.5% for 2025.
The move came after it reduced the energy revenue forecast by 24% due to expectations of a prolonged period of low oil prices.
Russia already hiked state spending on national defence by a quarter in 2025 to 6.3% of gross domestic product, the highest level since the Cold War, as the country continues its war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
Many analysts believe that the government will have no other choice but to hike taxes, reduce some sensitive social spending, and go on a borrowing spree if it wants to balance future budgets without cutting defence spending.
French foreign minister visits damaged metro station in Kyiv
France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, arrived in Kyiv on Monday for a two-day visit.
“Last night, Russian strikes targeted four districts of Kyiv. A metro station, shops, and a kindergarten bore the brunt of the Kremlin’s murderous violence. As Europeans, we will continue to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin,” Barrot said on X, in a translation offered by the French foreign ministry.
He took part in the Ukrainian Ambassadors’ Conference and visited Lukyanivska metro station in Kyiv damaged during an overnight attack.
“I am travelling to Kyiv. I will take part in the Ambassadors’ Conference and reiterate, on behalf of France, our unwavering support to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom of the Ukrainian people,” he said in an earlier post to X.
© Jean-Noël Barrot / Х 
© Jean-Noël Barrot / Х
