Putin May Strike NATO, German Official Warns, As Zelenskyy Marks “Brilliant” Drone Assault

Russia could launch an attack on NATO member states as soon as 2029, Germany’s defense chief has warned.

The warning comes as Ukraine launched a historic attack on Russia, destroying 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at Russian air bases.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the mission, named Operation Spiderweb, was planned over the course of 18 months right next to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters.

The attack involved a total of 117 drones, all operated individually, across several Russian regions and is estimated to have caused damages worth $7 billion.

“The people who assisted us were withdrawn from Russian territory before the operation, they are now safe,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia has now been deprived of “over 40 units of strategic aviation,” including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft, after intelligence suggested it was planning another massive airstrike.

A military source told AP that the complex operation involved first-person view, or FPV, drones being smuggled into Russia and stored in wooden mobile homes.

“Later, drones were hidden under the roofs of these houses while already placed on trucks,” the source said.

“At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”

After the surprise attack Sunday afternoon, fires broke out at air bases in the Irkutsk and Murmansk regions, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

It claimed to have repelled attacks at military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions.

Germany’s defense chief Gen. Carsten Breuer has now warned that Russia appears to be stockpiling tanks it could use against NATO Baltic state members, such as Lithuania.

Breuer told the BBC that about 1,500 main battle tanks were being produced by Russia, and not all of these were being used in Ukraine.

As well as this, Russia is estimated to have produced 4 million rounds of 152mm artillery munitions 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,” Breuer said.

Baltic state members of NATO were at a higher risk, he said, as “there's an intent and there's a build-up of the stocks.”

The Suwalki Gap, an area that borders Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Belarus, is considered the most vulnerable.

“The Baltic States are really exposed to the Russians, right? And once you are there, you really feel this... in the talks we are having over there,” Breuer said.

“This is what the analysts are assessing—in 2029. 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,” he added.

Russia is expected to hit back at Ukraine for Sunday’s attack and the “humiliation” it caused.

According to anonymous U.S. officials, President Donald Trump was not informed of the military action before it went ahead.

Zelenskyy has celebrated the “brilliant objective” and said every detail was “perfectly executed”—making it one for the history books.

Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul on Monday for peace talks with the Russian delegation, he confirmed, but noted Russia had refused to share their “memorandum.”

“Not for a single second did we want this war,” Zelenskyy said. “We offered the Russians a ceasefire. Since March 11, the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire has been on the table. It was the Russians who chose to continue the war—even under conditions where the entire world is calling for an end to the killing.”

“We continue to propose a full and unconditional ceasefire, along with all rational and dignified steps that could lead to a lasting and reliable peace. The Ukrainian proposal we presented to the Russians is logical and realistic,” he added.

“The Russians, however, have not shared their ‘memorandum’ with anyone – we don't have it, the Turkish side doesn't have it, and the American side doesn't have the Russian document either. Despite this, we will try to achieve at least some progress on the path toward peace.”

The Ukrainian attack came after a Russian strike killed 12 soldiers and injured 60 more at a training field on June 1, prompting the head of the Land Forces of Ukraine to resign.

“I have made the decision to file a letter of resignation from the position of Commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Maj-Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi said in a statement.

“Twelve dead. There are injured. These are young lads from the training battalion. Most of them were in shelters. They should have learned, lived, and fought—not died.”