International Press Review dated 19-30 May 2025
- Anton Kuchuhidze
- May 29
- 6 min read
In recent weeks, leading Western media have focused on several key events significantly impacting the course of the war in Ukraine. Notably, an important development was the lifting of restrictions on the range of Western weapons provided to Ukraine by Germany and other Western partners. This decision opens the possibility for Kyiv to strike military targets in russia more effectively.
At the same time, the media extensively covered russia’s massive missile attacks, which caused new civilian casualties and widespread destruction. Equally notable are kremlin preparations for a possible summer offensive in eastern Ukraine, potentially marking another stage in the escalation of hostilities.
The Washington Post reports that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz officially announced the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons. Additionally, he expressed readiness to support Ukraine in developing its own long-range missiles, which would not be subject to any Western limitations on range or targeting.
Merz said this during a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin. According to him, such a step will allow Ukraine to more effectively defend its territory, including the ability to strike at military targets outside the country. The Chancellor stressed that Germany is committed to providing Ukraine with a full range of capabilities for effective defence, including support for the development of national arms production.
Meanwhile, according to Politico, russia has launched the largest combined drone and missile attack on Ukrainian territory since the start of the full-scale war, despite US President Donald Trump’s public calls for an immediate halt to the bombings.
In response to the escalation, Trump sharply changed his tone toward vladimir putin, accusing him of “playing with fire” and disregarding efforts to reach a peace agreement. These statements mark a shift in Trump’s stance toward putin. While he had previously expressed favour toward the russian leader, he now described putin as “completely insane” and suggested that the war could lead to russia’s collapse.
According to The Washington Post, Ukrainian military officials and analysts anticipate a major russian offensive this summer in the Donetsk region, a strategically important area moscow has sought to fully capture since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Some experts already point to signs that this new offensive phase may have begun.
Despite the intensification of hostilities, analysts believe that russia lacks sufficient resources to conduct multiple major offensives simultaneously. Consequently, the kremlin is likely to focus on targeted pressure along the front line and the establishment of so-called "buffer zones" near the Ukrainian-russian border.
Ukraine remains committed to peace and is ready to reach an agreement. However, no such agreement has yet been achieved: russia rejected a proposal for an unconditional ceasefire and, the very next day, launched a massive drone attack on Ukrainian cities.
Moreover, rather than prioritizing a peaceful resolution, russian politicians are resorting to threats, alluding to the possibility of World War III, preparing for a new offensive, and intensifying bombardments.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their range and target options as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia’s invasion .
Merz said in Berlin, alongside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that under an intensified cooperation agreement Germany “will strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country,” including upgraded domestic missile production.
Russia is expected to mount a major offensive this summer against Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which it has been trying to conquer since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian military officials and analysts said.
The warnings over the offensive, which some analysts say has already begun, come as a U.S.-brokered peace process has limped along with inconclusive meetings and little concrete results. Russia has rejected repeated U.S. and European calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Russia launched its largest-ever drone-and-missile assault on Ukraine overnight into Monday, according to Ukrainian officials, defying President Trump’s calls for an end to the bombardment.
The latest attacks came just hours after Trump issued a strong rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin, denouncing airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital and other cities that killed at least 12 people Sunday.
“He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers,” Trump said late Sunday in a social-media post, referring to Putin. “Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
Germany will step up financial and military aid to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday, the latest sign that Europe is moving to replace the U.S. as Kyiv’s key military supporter in its war with Russia.
Germany will “maintain and expand” its military support to Ukraine and the two countries will start a joint program to produce long-range weapons that Kyiv can use against Russian targets, Merz said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin.
“This is the start of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between our two countries and one that has huge potential,” he said.
In the first years of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine relied heavily on a host of Western weapons to equip its forces. Now, out of the crucible of war, Kyiv’s own defense industry is producing more arms than ever.
Ukraine had only a single prototype of its domestically produced Bohdana howitzer when Russia invaded. Last year, Kyiv said it produced more artillery guns than all the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries combined.
While Western allies have been slow to increase arms production, the value of weapons Ukraine’s defense industry can make has ballooned from $1 billion in 2022 to $35 billion over three years of war, even as Russia fires missiles at its factories.
On a call Monday, President Trump told European leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t ready to end the war in Ukraine because he thinks he is winning, according to four senior European officials familiar with the conversation.
In what the officials characterized as a rambling and at-times contradictory call, Trump also said he believed Putin ultimately desired peace, albeit on Russia’s terms, they said. The Europeans’ takeaway was that Trump didn’t believe that a near-term peace deal was in the offing and that the war was Europe’s problem, they said.
Yet peace requires willing partners. While Ukraine has made clear it is ready for such an end, Russia has made more excuses than the market can bear. President Trump has asked Vladimir Putin to provide a term sheet outlining the requirements for a cease-fire, bringing the roadblocks to peace to a head. Depending on how Russia responds, we will know which course to take.
The Senate is prepared either way. I have coordinated with the White House on the Russia sanctions bill since its inception. The bill would put Russia on a trade island, slapping 500% tariffs on any country that buys Moscow’s energy products. The consequences of its barbaric invasion must be made real to those that prop it up. If China or India stopped buying cheap oil, Mr. Putin’s war machine would grind to a halt.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “playing with fire,” as Moscow continues battering Ukraine in the face of Trump’s attempts to broker a peace deal to end the war.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Tuesday morning.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday, May 26, that Germany, along with Ukraine's other key Western backers, had lifted range restrictions on weapons they send to Kyiv to fight against Russia. Merz, who took office early this month, also vowed that "we will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily," in close coordination with other supporters.
"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," he said. "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."
Germany and Ukraine aim to jointly develop the industrial production of long-range missiles, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday as he vowed to keep piling on more pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
"We want to enable long-range weapons, we also want to enable joint production, and we will not speak about details publicly but will intensify cooperation," he said in a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said the two leaders had agreed to cooperate in production in Ukraine of weapons, including drones. Government officials had signed agreements on the construction and development of production facilities, he said.
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