The Guardian view on Russia’s strike on Kyiv: Putin is testing Trump’s will and Europe’s resolve | Editorial

The Kremlin sent a clear message with its lethal overnight raid on the Ukrainian capital. Will the US heed it?

Wednesday night brought a grim return to Russia’s form: one of the heaviest air raids on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion began. Moscow eased off its strikes on major cities in the run-up to the Alaska summit, and it held off its attack on the Ukrainian capital until Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy, had finished his visit there. But within hours of his departure, at least 18 people, including several children, were dead in an attack on a residential block, and the European Union mission had been severely damaged.

Donald Trump periodically suggests that he is drawing a line for Vladimir Putin. Yet each time he appears to set a limit, the Russian president breezes through it. The Kyiv attack shows that it is Mr Putin who is testing the US president. Mr Trump threatened “severe consequences” if Moscow did not immediately agree to a ceasefire – but in Anchorage was quickly persuaded by Mr Putin that there was no need for one prior to a peace deal.