[DM]
Attacks are possible on Spain, France or Italy using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched from merchant ships, a Spanish newspaper has claimed
According to El Mundo, US agencies have produced a detailed report warning of a possible Russian operation against the holiday destinations.
Like Britain, all three of the countries supposedly under threat supply military assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
In the Ukrainian Black Sea resort Odesa, Putin’s forces have regularly terrorised beachgoers, even if the targets have been inland.
The newspaper does not name US officials behind the claims, but a defence-connected source in Lithuania, a Nato member, said: ‘They will use drones launched from the sea and hidden in cargo containers. It is not that complicated.’
Under the scenario, Putin’s Gerbera drones could be launched from merchant ships in international waters possibly 125 to 190 miles offshore.
The Gerbera’s payload is enough to cause fires, damage exposed equipment or temporarily close a port or airport.
No specific targets were named. The 'potential impact could be not only material, but also political and economic'.
The report comes amid Western intelligence warnings that Russia could stage limited attacks on Nato states within months not years.
Until now, the threat has been perceived mainly in Northern Europe, with drones already violating the airspace of Nato states Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia as well as pro-Western Moldova.
Germany has been a victim of a Russian drone operation in Leipzig.
Sources say European states were warned of the Russian threat including to the Mediterranean after CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow a month ago, when he spoke to Putin's spymasters.
French president Emmanuel Macron is known to have convened his Defence Council on September 16, and two days later, he summoned the leaders of all political parties and the candidates for the 2027 presidential election to the Élysée Palace.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk also admitted receiving a warning of Russian attacks against countries supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Europe's spy chiefs have warned that Russia may be about to test Nato, with one saying an attack could come in a matter of months.
Speaking to The Guardian, Michal Koudelka, the head of the Czech Republic's BIS security service, said a Russian incursion on Nato territory was possible.
'This along with false-flag provocations and an influence campaign could begin to take place in a matter of months, not years,' he said.
Meanwhile, Normunds Mežviets, the director general of the VDD, Latvia's state security service, said that although there were clear signs of Moscow ramping up interference in Europe, the agency does not 'see indications of an imminent attack'.
# id) ?>
|
