U.S. intelligence has warned several European governments that Russia is preparing a drone attack against Spain, France, or Italy, according to a report by Spanish newspaper El Mundo. According to the outlet, the drones could be launched from a commercial vessel after being concealed inside a shipping container.
A source close to Lithuania’s Defense Ministry said:
“They will use drones launched from the sea, hidden in the container of a ship; it's not difficult at all.”
Lithuanian authorities even know the type of drone involved, according to the newspaper: the Gerbera, a Russian unmanned aircraft often used as a decoy or strike drone. The UAV weighs up to 18 kilograms, can reach speeds of about 160 kilometers per hour, and has a reported range of up to 600 kilometers. Its 4- to 5-kilogram warhead would not be powerful enough to destroy a major facility, but it could still start a fire or temporarily shut down a port or airport.
Lithuania received the information shortly after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on Aug. 25. According to El Mundo’s sources, authorities in Spain, France, and Italy were also warned about the possibility of such an operation, while a CIA report describing the potential attack in detail was circulated among European foreign ministries. The warning coincided with a response by French President Emmanuel Macron, who convened the country’s Defense Council on Sept. 16 and, two days later, invited leaders of all political parties to the Élysée Palace. After the meeting, the French president said protection of critical infrastructure against cyberattacks and drones would be strengthened due to “hybrid threats” from Russia.
El Mundo noted that elections are scheduled in all three countries in 2027 and that radical political forces could seek to capitalize on public fear about Russian attacks and general fatigue over the war in Ukraine. On Sept. 19, the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar published a map of possible targets in southern France, including aircraft plants, military bases, nuclear power stations, and petrochemical complexes that it said could be within range of Geran-5 drones launched from the northern coast of Algeria.
Last week, debris from a drone and a substance that investigators believe to be explosives were found in Lower Saxony near the German military’s Wunstorf Air Base. German federal prosecutors are examining whether the discovery is connected to an attempted act of sabotage at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August that Berlin has blamed on Russia. In that incident, a drone fitted with a detonator was found there near a Ukrainian transport aircraft.
