Russia said Tuesday that its massive aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent days were a "response" to escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its own civilians, accusing Kyiv of trying to "disrupt" peace efforts.

Moscow, which has repeatedly rejected proposals from Kyiv and its Western allies for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, fired hundreds of drones at Ukraine between late Friday and early Monday, killing more than a dozen people and saturating the country's air defences.

US President Donald Trump, who has been seeking to broker an end to Moscow's three-year offensive, said Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY" and threatened Russia with sanctions over the attacks.

Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have accelerated in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding direct talks for the first time in three years earlier this month.

But Putin has been accused of stalling peace talks and the Kremlin has shown no signs of scaling back its maximalist demands.

"Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations........

© International Business Times