Officials organising a NATO summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskiy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump.

The war in Ukraine and the existential threat that Russia poses to European security has topped NATO’s agenda in each of its summits since 2022.

NATO is preparing a summit this month that will involve a single working session to zero in on military spending as leaders seek to win over US President Donald Trump with a pledge to ramp up defense budgets.

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.

The Russian attacks come after President Donald Trump likened the two sides to children on a playground who needed “to fight for a while.”