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.

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.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their range and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia's invasion.