Drone incursions and suspected acts of sabotage across Europe have been linked to Russia, prompting Western officials to warn of increased kinetic activity directed by Moscow. On Thursday, Russian drones crashed in Romania, a NATO member, and neighboring Moldova as a map by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows. Both countries have repeatedly expressed alarm at the war in Ukraine spilling over into Europe.
NATO's eastern flank members have stepped up their warnings of the threat posed by Russia, citing airspace violations, GPS jamming, and other hybrid threats below the threshold of armed warfare. "It shows that the threat posed by Russia is increasingly affecting Europe as a whole," Susan Lilleväli, Estonia's foreign ministry spokesperson told Newsweek. "Russia wants us to be afraid—as for the Kremlin, fear is also a weapon." Russia has repeatedly rejected European allegations of hybrid attacks, and Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
On Thursday, Romania's authorities said that a Russian Gerbera-type drone entered its airspace for around four minutes and crashed near Solca, Suceava County, south of its border with Ukraine. Moldova's police said the same kind of drone crashed in Cernita on Thursday and posted images of the debris. Ukraine's Chernivtsi Oblast Military Administration said on Thursday that four Russian drones had flown over Bukovyna in Western Ukraine and targeted Ukrainian border crossings with Moldova and Romania.
As Russia carried out strikes against Ukraine the same day, the Zosin and Dorohusk crossings at the Polish-Ukrainian border were evacuated as a precaution, Poland said. Meanwhile, a map by ISW shows Russian drone incursions into NATO and Moldovan airspaces. The Washington, DC think tank described how they were "likely part of the Kremlin’s efforts to normalize airspace violations by intensifying their frequency." The ISW also said that other recent incidents in Poland and Germany fit the pattern of Russian hybrid attacks although Moscow has not been officially blamed.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Thursday a fire at the Starlink satellite communications ground base station in Wola Krobowska the previous day had been caused by sabotage and aimed to disrupt internet services. Meanwhile, German authorities suspended Berlin-Brandenburg airport on Wednesday night after an unidentified drone was spotted flying in the area. The incidents come amid a spate of warnings from Western officials about the prospect of expanding Russian aggression in Europe on the heels of unexplained arson, attacks on critical infrastructure, cyberattacks, and airspace violations.
A source within the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday Moscow may launch Gerbera-type drones from a shipping container in the Mediterranean Sea against Spain, France, and Italy. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that the CIA had alerted southern European governments to this possible Russian drone operation targeting Spain, France, and Italy, although the claims were rejected by French President Emmanuel Macron. However, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said Moscow will intensify its "hybrid war" in the coming months, as it cited a foiled drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany whose authorities said had been months in the planning.
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