US intelligence warns Putin could attack NATO within weeks as strikes hit Kyiv

Russian president Vladimir Putin could order an attack on a NATO country within weeks to test the alliance’s resolve, a new intelligence report from the US has warned.

Russia could attempt to escalate tensions by launching a small land incursion or firing cyber attacks across eastern Europe starting this autumn to 2029, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US officials have warned that Putin can attack the alliance in ways other than military and the goal in attacking Nato while raging its war in Ukraine would be to break the alliance, the report added.

This marks a major shift from intelligence reports that have earlier indicated Putin would not target Nato while fighting his war in Ukraine.

This comes as at least three people, including a child, were among those killed in Russian strikes in the region surrounding capital Kyiv ⁠in the early hours today, officials said.

The Russian strikes were recorded at three locations in the Boryspil district, near the capital. Three more people ‌were injured in the attack, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv military administration.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had his first official visit to Serbia on Friday, one of the few European countries that have maintained friendly relations with Russia.

“Important talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow,” the Ukrainian president said.

“We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, and other areas where we can find practical opportunities that benefit our peoples, as well as security issues,” Zelensky added.

A drone entered Bulgarian airspace on Saturday and exploded close to an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing the border from Romania.

Bulgaria’s prime minister Rumen Radev said the drone exploded just after 5 a.m. about 100 meters (330 feet) inside Bulgarian territory.

It was not detected or identified while flying through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.

“There are no casualties or damage to buildings. The area has been cordoned off. We continue to monitor the situation,” Radev said following a government emergency meeting.

Radev said the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded around 200 meters from a Romanian compressor station, and about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Bulgaria’s compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance. Following this incident, we will also redeploy border police anti-drone detection and countermeasure capabilities from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania,” Radev said.

It was unclear where the drone had originated or whether it was linked to Russia or Ukraine.

In Russia, six people were wounded when a fire broke out at the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the southern Krasnodar region due to debris from a falling drone, local officials said.

Ukraine’s almost daily long-range drone and missile strikes using domestically developed weapons have battered Russian oil facilities for months. The operation has brought a fuel crisis that is embarrassing the Kremlin.

Two grandparents and their 3-year-old grandson were killed after multiple Russian drones destroyed their home in the Brovary district of Kyiv region, northeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Saturday.

Three other members of the same family and a neighbor who came to their aid were hospitalised, local authorities said.

The attack reduced the house to rubble and wrecked outbuildings and cars. In the city of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least one other person died in a “strike involving six ballistic missiles against civilian infrastructure.”

Russian forces have captured Ivanivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to the Russian defence ministry.

Ukrainian military hit Russia's Ilsky and Syzran oil refineries during overnight attacks, causing fires at both, the Ukrainian general staff said on Saturday.

Ukraine has been hitting Russian oil facilities for months in an attempt to reduce Moscow's economic ability to finance its war.

Russian attacks could include a cyberattack on a NATO country or could include sending unmarked armed groups to occupy territory, or even launching a limited incursion on the eastern flank of NATO nations, the intelligence shows.

Ukraine has hit a major logistics hub of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Yekaterinburg, east of Moscow, continuing its three-week campaign of near-nightly strikes.

At least 20 Wildberries warehouses have been attacked since July 18, sparking major fires, destroying entire warehouses of stock, and disrupting its vast logistics network across the world's largest country. A Reuters review of satellite imagery shows at least 1.18 million square metres of storage space - more than a fifth of the company's capacity - has been damaged or destroyed.

The strikes are part of a campaign by Ukraine to "bring the war home" to ordinary Russians and raise the cost to Russia of continuing the conflict that Moscow launched in February 2022.

The Russian embassy in Berlin dismissed a suspected drone attack at a major German air freight hub this week as "fabricated provocation" on Friday, saying it was another example of accusations against Russia without evidence.

“The embassy is expressing its concern about a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany,” said a statement published on its website in German and Russian.

German federal prosecutors launched a probe this week into what they described as a serious attack that could have impacted foreign and domestic security.

“It is obvious that this hastily fabricated provocation only serves the interests of Kyiv and the militarist wing of the European political class,” the Russian embassy said in its statement.