Zelenskyy warns Russia is preparing a new massive attack on Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy used a taped interview in Kyiv to warn that Russia is preparing another large strike on Ukraine, with drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles likely to be part of the attack. The timing sharpened the stakes in Washington: Zelenskyy had already written President Donald Trump and Congress on Memorial Day, May 26, asking for more Patriot missile systems and interceptors as Kyiv tries to blunt a widening Russian air campaign.

The warning was not abstract. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had recently endured a major assault involving about 600 drones and more than 30 ballistic missiles. He urged Ukrainians to use bomb shelters and remain extremely cautious, saying Ukraine’s biggest deficit is anti-ballistic missile capability. That gap matters because ballistic missiles are among the hardest threats to intercept and can do disproportionate damage to cities, power systems and other civilian infrastructure.

The latest appeal also showed how Ukraine is trying to keep pressure on its Western partners. Zelenskyy said the current pace of deliveries through the NATO-backed Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List program was no longer keeping up with the threat. In practical terms, that means Ukraine is asking not for vague promises but for faster deliveries of the specific weapons that can defend against Russia’s missile barrages. For the United States, that puts Patriot systems at the center of the alliance’s response, and it underscores how dependent Ukraine remains on American air-defense support.

The appeal followed a Russian attack on the eve of Memorial Day that killed at least two people, injured nearly 100, and damaged more than 350 residential buildings in Kyiv, including schools and museums. The Chornobyl Museum was among the sites hit. Moscow also warned foreign nationals to leave Kyiv ahead of expanded strikes, a signal that added urgency to Zelenskyy’s message that the next round of attacks could be larger and more intense.

The interview, taped on May 29 in Kyiv, aired on a May 31 episode of Face the Nation that also featured Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, former Vice President Mike Pence and World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain. For Ukraine, the immediate war aim is clear: hold the skies long enough to keep cities functioning and preserve leverage with allies who control the missile defenses Ukraine still cannot replace on its own.