Ukraine’s strikes on Moscow are threatening Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, Nato officials believe.

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.

The Telegraph understands that Nato officials believe the strikes have weakened Putin’s influence.

The attacks in the heart of Russia have increased domestic pressure on Putin, whose premiership is facing a period of increased danger, it is understood.

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.

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.

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.”

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