Ukraine’s strikes on Moscow are threatening Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, Nato officials believe.
The Russian president is perceived to be under significant domestic pressure because of the drone attacks that have overwhelmed air defences.
Recent losses on the front lines have also contributed to an assessment that Putin’s premiership is facing a period of increased danger.
Senior Nato officials have given detailed briefings on Russia’s military capabilities but rarely make public statements about internal Russian politics.
Kyiv bombarded the Russian capital last week with 1,000 drones in the largest aerial onslaught since the war began in February 2022.
The attack destroyed a major oil refinery and forced the Kremlin to pull air defence units from the front lines to protect the city. It came just days after a similar strike against St Petersburg, where another refinery was struck.
Credit: Social Media/X
Putin has been desperate to shelter his country’s population from the reality of the war, which Nato says has killed 500,000 Russians. Kyiv says it is killing or wounding 30,000 enemy troops a month.
Speaking at the E5 summit alongside European leaders, Sir Keir Starmer said Russians were turning against their leader because of the war on Ukraine.
“There are clear signs as Russia loses ground and their economy struggles that the mood in Moscow is turning against Putin’s war,” he said.
“So this is a really important moment to ramp up the pressure on their economy, [impose] more sanctions and provide Ukraine with more military support.”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Johnny Stringer, Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander Europe, signalled on Wednesday that the situation facing the Russian leader was dire.
“If I were him, I would be looking at my options because they do not look good,” he told The Telegraph during the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) land warfare conference in London on Wednesday.
The British military chief said Russia had suffered a “series of setbacks” in the war, which has dragged on for more than four years.
The Ukrainian attacks on Moscow strike at Putin’s tactic of keeping the population distanced from the realities of war
Sir John added that Nato was taking steps to shore up its defences, but insisted the alliance, which protects about one billion people, was a purely defensive one.
“As a defensive alliance, we are very conscious that we must protect all of our nations,” he said. “But we have to make sure our response is proportionate, measured but firm.”
Overnight, a Ukrainian air attack on Russian-occupied Crimea knocked out power in its largest city, Sevastopol, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Kremlin-appointed governor.
Kyiv said its drones struck the city’s main power substation, and Mr Razvozhayev warned some areas would be left without power until Wednesday evening.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s defence minister, said the flurry of drone strikes was part of a strategy to “exhaust” Russian forces and bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
“We see that Ukraine is regaining the initiative in this war,” Mr Fedorov, who was attending the conference organised by Rusi, a London-based military think tank, said on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, we saw Putin’s response. He said he does not want to see consequences for infrastructure in Crimea. That was said yesterday. Today, Sevastopol is without power.
“Putin is trying to respond to what is happening, but I believe the investment made over the last few months will bear fruit in the near future.”
The port city of Sevastopol is a critical logistical and strategic location. Ukraine’s strikes are aimed at obliterating power facilities to damage oil revenues and deepen the crisis facing the Russian state.
The citizens of Kyiv have lived with the threat of Russian strikes since Putin ordered the invasion of the country in 2022 – Thomas Peter/Reuters
Robert Brovdi, who heads Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, said on Wednesday that drones had attacked 48 operational and planned military sites.
He added that Sevastopol’s main power substation had been struck during the air raid.
The attacks prompted a defiant response from Mr Razvozhayev.
“We will not be intimidated by the lack of light. We have gone through more than that, and we will survive now,” he said in a Telegram message.
“The enemy is again striking vilely, trying to deprive us of our usual living conditions and sow panic.”
Volodymyr Zelensky has issued an ultimatum to President Lukashenko of Belarus, a long-standing and close ally of Putin – Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelensky threatened last week to attack neighbouring Belarus, accusing the country, a longstanding ally of Russia, of assisting Moscow with drone targeting in Ukraine.
Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s president, was given a one-week ultimatum on June 19: remove all equipment aiding Putin’s forces, or Ukraine will strike Belarus.
“If he doesn’t do it, we will,” Mr Zelensky warned, adding that “a week is enough for him to do that”.
Ukraine’s deadline runs out on Friday.