After Donald Trump returned to the US presidency in January 2025, the number of russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory more than doubled. This is reported by the BBC, citing BBC Verify data.
According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in the six months since Trump's inauguration - from January 20 to July 19 - russia fired 27,158 munitions at Ukraine, while in the last six months of Joe Biden's presidency their number was 11,614.
"It is clear that putin feels emboldened by Trump's weakness and has intensified his brutal attacks on the Ukrainian people, repeatedly attacking hospitals and maternity wards, the Ukrainian energy system and other civilian facilities," Democratic Senator Chris Coons said in a comment to BBC Verify.
The publication notes that russia intensified its shelling during Biden's time, but after Trump's victory, their intensity increased sharply, reaching the highest level in the entire war.
RUSI analyst Justin Bronk links this to Washington's decisions: "Restrictions on the supply of military equipment made Ukraine vulnerable to attacks. Moscow also increased the production of missiles and drones, which, together with the reduction in the supply of interceptor missiles, could contribute to escalation."
Against the backdrop of the strikes, calls have been renewed to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine - each of which costs about USD 1 billion, and the missile - about USD 4 million.
Meanwhile, Trump himself, who promised to "end the war in 24 hours" and said that the war "would not have started if the US had a person respected in the Kremlin," continues to speak with restraint about putin, while the US has already twice suspended the supply of critical equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on August 6, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with russian dictator vladimir putin in the Kremlin.
Recall, on July 28, Trump announced that he was setting a new deadline of 10-12 days, during which the aggressor state of russia must make progress in concluding a peace agreement with Ukraine.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.