Why Putin Ignores (and Insults) Trump

Whether you spent your Memorial Day weekend visiting the tomb of a fallen relative, walking the rows of gravestones at Arlington, posting something patriotic, or just grilling with family and friends, you may have missed that the Ukraine war just escalated significantly.

The largest ground conflict in Europe since World War II expanded in two ways.

Russia, which first invaded in 2014 then massively expanded the war in 2022, unleashed a major aerial bombardment on mostly civilian targets across Ukraine. The government in Kyiv said the attack included a record 355 drones as well as nine ballistic missiles.

Britain, France, Germany and the United States lifted restrictions on how far inside Russia that Ukraine can strike using weapons provided by those allies, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, nor by the Americans,” Merz said in a wide-ranging TV interview. “This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia. … With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”