Germany’s chief of defence has warned that Russia is stockpiling weapons and military equipment for a possible attack on NATO sooner than we expect.
It comes after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it had destroyed more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack inside Russia’s territory on Sunday (1 June).
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address that 117 drones had been used in the complicated operation.
“The most interesting thing – and we can already say this publicly – is that the ‘office’ of our operation on Russian territory was located right next to the FSB of Russia in one of their regions,” Zelenskyy said.
SBU sources told the BBC that they took out ’34 percent of [Russia’s] strategic cruise missile carriers’, which reportedly amounted to £5 billion in damage.
Ukraine claims it has destroyed more than 40 military planes in a drone attack in Russia (Contributor/Getty Images)
The attack reportedly took a year and a half to plan and prepare for.
“The SBU first smuggled FPV drones into Russia, followed later by mobile wooden cabins. Once on Russian territory, the drones were hidden under the roofs of these cabins, which had been placed on cargo vehicles,” the sources said.
“At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones took off to strike the Russian bombers.”
Following the attack, Germany’s chief of defence General Carsten Breuer claims NATO is facing ‘a very serious threat’ from Russia.
Germany’s chief of defence has issued a warning to NATO (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
He said that German analysts believe the Vladimir Putin led country is producing around 1,500 main battle tanks every year, having produced four million rounds of 152mm artillery munition in 2024.
“Not every single tank is going to [the war in] Ukraine, but it’s also going in stocks and into new military structures always facing the West,” he added to the BBC.
He said ‘there’s an intent and there’s a build up of the stocks’ for a possible future attack on NATO’s Baltic state members.
“This is what the analysts are assessing – in 2029.
General Breuer says NATO need to be ready (Getty Stock Images)
“So we have to be ready by 2029… If you ask me now, is this a guarantee that’s not earlier than 2029?
“I would say no, it’s not. So we must be able to fight tonight.”
If Russia was to attack the US, a key member of NATO, it would mean that all other members would have to come to its defence.
Given that NATO countries Hungary and Slovakia appear to have closer relations to Russia, General Breuer is still confident that NATO remains unified.
“I’ve never seen such a unity like it is now,” he said.
“All of them understand the threat that is at the moment approaching NATO, all understand that we have to develop a direction of deterrence, into the direction of collective defence. This is clear to everyone. The urgency is seen.”
Russia could invade a NATO country, if a former CIA boss is to be believed.
Relations between the West and Russia are at a low point right now, and David Petraeus seems to think that we could be on the brink of war.
The former CIA chief has spoken out against the likes of President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and with Russia recently unleashing another strike on Ukraine, he fears that we could be on the verge of something serious.
He spoke at the Policy Exchange think tank in London recently, suggesting that Putin aims to topple Ukraine and have a ‘puppet leader’, and that it’s only a matter of time before he targets another NATO country.
“Once that’s done, you are going to see them focus on one of the Baltic states. Lithuania has featured prominently in his speeches, and we should have listened a lot more,” he claimed.
He has criticised Trump and Putin, warning of an impending war (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
But what would happen if he actually started a war with another country?
Well, while NATO is considering the possibilities of an ‘all-out war’, there’s a thought that Russia will use ‘less obvious techniques’ to destabilise NATO countries, report Newsweek.
They add that it could include a ‘limited incursion’ to nearby states, or ‘hybrid warfare tactics’.
According to Edward Lucas in The Times, the nation would target ‘energy infrastructure, computer networks or transport systems: the nerves and arteries of modern society’.
It would also utilise ‘spies, soldiers and hired thugs’, though it is suggested that this is already happening.
NATO allies may soon respond to these moves from the Kremlin, as Labour cabinet minister Pat McFadden claimed last month that Russia will launch cyber attacks on NATO’s allies – in what is a ‘real’ threat.
It is believed that Russia is not ready to wage war on NATO, despite military assistance from North Korea, with an all-out war a step too far.
Putin may be thinking about waging a war on Nato countries (Contributor/Getty Images)
Last week, the UK’s chief of the defence staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, stated: “There is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom. And that is the same for the whole of NATO.”
He added that Moscow ‘knows the response would be overwhelming, whether conventional or nuclear’.
Al Jazeera claim that NATO ‘would quickly prevail’ if any war were to take place, due to the number of troops and quality of equipment.
It’s believed that NATO will still ‘pack a punch’ when it comes to a war with Russia, with ally nations simply having more strength in numbers than Russia.
Numerous NATO countries are heavily investing in their military; however, according to Newsweek, Western Europe is slightly behind in these investments.
Donald Trump has slammed an ‘absolutely crazy’ Vladimir Putin after Russia launched its largest aerial on Ukraine.
The US President, who was made brokering peace between the countries a cornerstone in his presidency, was clearly very unhappy with what he saw and wasted no time in making his feelings known online.
Taking to his Truth Social platform, the 78-year-old openly wondered if ‘something has happened’ to Putin and threatened that continued attacks would lead to the downfall of Russia.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY,” he wrote.
Donald Trump issued a furious response to deadly Russian attacks (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
He continued: “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
The US President also hit out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming he was ‘doing his country no favours by talking the way he does’.
“Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” he said.
“This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not “Trump’s,” I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.”
Trump’s comments were in reference to an attack which saw Russia launch saw 367 drones and missiles into Ukraine, the largest aerial attack since the conflict began in 2022, the BBC reports.
Missiles landed in major cities such as Kyiv and north-eastern Kharkiv, as well as regions such as Zaporizhzhia and Khmelnytskyi.
Moscow has also claimed that Ukraine had fired drones into its territory, including some aimed at the capital. However these were shot down with no injuries reported.
Reports from local governors suggest that at least 13 people, including children, were killed in the attacks, while a further 57 injured, the via MailOnline.
Images of damaged homes in Ukraine after Russian strikes (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg)
US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg has also condemned the attacks, writing on X: This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents.
“These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now.”
Meanwhile Zelenskyy has criticised the US for its ‘silence’ over continued Russian attacks and called for ‘strong pressure on the Russian leadership’.
“The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. America’s silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin.”
Russia has wheeled out its star propagandists to make a fresh set of nuclear threats on state TV.
By now we should all be well aware that Kremlin mouthpieces spend a great deal of their time appearing on Russian television and shouting about how Vladimir Putin should send a barrage nuclear missiles flying eastward.
From airing grim simulations showing the impact of a nuclear strike to claiming that ‘one Sarmat [missile] means minus one Great Britain‘, Russian propagandists aren’t shy when it comes to telling us how they really feel.
In the latest dispatch we see key Kremlin mouthpieces such as Yury Ushakov and Igor Markov join Vladimir Solovyov on his Evening with Vladimir Solovyov show.
The evening’s discussion topic? Firing nuclear missiles at London.
As Russians recently sat down to eat their dinner they enjoyed a lively debate about nuking London, courtesy of state TV (Getty Stock Images)
Claiming that nuclear tests would have the capability of crippling London, the group claimed that such a strike would mean ‘lights will go out like in Spain’, referring to the recent power cuts on the Iberian peninsula.
Ushakov then brought up recent alleged drone strikes on Russia from Ukraine, claiming that British storm shadow missiles had been shot down en route to Moscow.
However it is important to note that storm shadow missiles are not capable of reaching Moscow from within Ukrainian territory. Moscow is around 310 miles from the Ukrainian border, while Storm Shadow missiles supplied to Ukraine have a range of up to 155 miles.
Ushakov then claimed the alleged use of storm shadow missiles was a ‘declaration of war’ by the UK, prompting Solovyov to declare that an attack on the UK was necessary.
“British planning, British missiles, an attack on Moscow. How long are we going to put up with these scoundrels?,” Markov added.
The debate appeared on a show hosted by Kremlin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov (East2West)
The group then claimed the only response for the alleged slights was to detonate a nuclear bomb over London. An attack which would supposedly disable services with a powerful electromagnetic storm, before Solovyov branded the UK as a ‘miserable state of people without chins’.
Now you may be wondering what brought this outburst on. Well, it’s all to do with alleged Ukrainian attacks during Russia’s World War II commemorations, a topic which Putin had apparently moaned about during his phone call to Donald Trump.
“Our president emphasised the importance of the recent anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War [Second World War] and recalled that Russia had announced a three-day ceasefire ahead of the celebration,” he said.
“After that, in the early morning hours….Ukraine launched 524 drones and Storm Shadow missiles at Russia, most of which were aimed at Moscow.
“Practically all of them were downed.”
One of Vladimir Putin’s staunch allies has issued a chilling threat to UK troops, warning they ‘will all die’ if they step foot in Ukraine.
Britain was used as the butt of the joke once again during Vladimir Solovyov’s latest TV rant, which comes just a week after the Russian President himself ridiculed our economy and armed forces.
Amid Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to deploy an Anglo-French ‘reassurance force’ to Ukraine following a ceasefire deal, Putin made a series of scathing comments.
Speaking during a visit to an Arctic naval base on 27 March, the Russian President said: “[Britain] is jumping on us, behaving aggressively… but their economy is, I think, in the ninth or tenth place in the world.
“Hence the armed forces – what is it, 170,000 or 180,000? That’s all the armed forces of the UK.”
Putin’s ally issued the warning to UK and French troops shortly after the Russian President made scathing comments of his own (GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
And now, Russian TV presenter Solovyov – who is one of Putin’s most prominent supporters – has jumped on the bandwagon.
The 61-year-old has warned that British and French troops should prepare to be slaughtered if they are sent to Ukraine on peacekeeping missions, the Mirror reports.
Solovyov told his viewers: “I learned with interest today that the British are watching us, quoting me. Yes, you will all die – who come to our land.
“And the French too, by the way. You’ll all die…stay at home. The Americans have already realised that.”
Solovyov had shared a similar sentiment while on air last week, suggesting that British and French troops wouldn’t last long if they are sent to Ukraine.
Vladimir Solovyov warned that peacekeeping troops who could potentially be sent to Ukraine would ‘all die’ (Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“What contingents can Britain prepare? Well, we’ve already buried a lot of Brits here, and a lot of Frenchmen,” Putin’s pal said. “Well, come [to Ukraine], all of you, all of you die.”
