CIA warned Italy, Spain and France of possible Russian drone attacks, Spanish media reports
The CIA has obtained intelligence about a potential upcoming Russian drone attack on Spain, France or Italy and has shared it with multiple European governments, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source close to Lithuania's Defence Ministry, diplomatic sources in a Baltic country and several defence analysts.
The source close to Lithuania’s Defence Ministry told the newspaper that Russia could launch the strikes from the sea, hiding drones in a shipping container aboard a vessel. He likened the plan to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, in which drones smuggled into Russia were used to hit military airfields.
Lithuanian authorities know which type of drone would be involved, according to the report: the Gerbera, which weighs up to 18 kilograms and purportedly has a range of up to 600 kilometres. A merchant ship could carry several of them and launch them by catapult, El Mundo wrote.
A Gerbera alone would not be capable of destroying a large facility, the journalists noted, but it could start a fire, damage equipment or temporarily paralyse operations at a port or airport. The main aim might be to cause economic and political damage as well as material damage.
El Mundo suggested that Italy, Spain and France may have been chosen because all three are due to hold elections in 2027. Domestic political forces could exploit war fatigue and fear of escalation in their campaigns, the paper noted.
Lithuania, like other countries, learned of the possible attacks shortly after CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s 25 August trip to Moscow, El Mundo reported. Diplomatic sources in an unspecified Baltic country told the paper they knew about the visit in advance and later received information on what Ratcliffe discussed with the heads of Russian security services.
The CIA has also warned Poland of a possible Russian attack aimed at destabilising its banking system, the Polish edition of Newsweek reported on 23 September. According to the report, the threat may involve undersea telecommunications infrastructure in the Baltic on which international banking systems depend.
