A Ukrainian drone attack last weekend likely damaged around 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and hit some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for strikes on Ukraine, a senior German military official said.

NATO member countries must prepare for a possible Russian attack within the next four years, as stated by the Chief of the German Armed Forces General Staff, General Carsten Breuer, according to the BBC.

Germany has given Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia using long-range weapons supplied by Berlin, in a decision that signals a notable hardening of Western resolve as the war grinds on.