CIA warns Spain, France and Italy of possible Russian sea-launched drone attack
US intelligence reportedly told three Mediterranean allies that Russia could hide Gerbera drones on container ships and launch them at their coasts.
What to know
- US intelligence reportedly warned Spain, France and Italy that Russia may launch Gerbera drones hidden aboard merchant ships from up to 600 km offshore.
- The warning follows CIA Director John Ratcliffe's unexplained trip to Moscow on August 25, which WSJ and Politico said was meant to deter Russia from attacking NATO.
- Lithuania is described as holding precise details on the drone type involved, and a recent armed-drone incident at Leipzig airport, blamed on Russian intelligence, is cited as a turning point.
- Macron's unusual reaction around September 16 is reported to coincide with France being told it could be a target, though full details of his response are not yet public in the coverage.
The dispute Commenters differ on whether to frame the story as validation of Western intelligence cooperation or as ammunition against domestic critics of defense spending and Ukraine support. · positions read across 27 posts and comments
Intelligence-sharing among allies (including non-NATO channels) is normal, and past warnings that were dismissed as scaremongering turned out to be accurate.
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“Brother you dont need to be in NATO for the US and the UK intelligence departments to find out foreign military objectives thats the entire point of intelligence exchange At the time Germany France and Ukraine doubted the information…”
Mr_addicT911 · Reddit ↗
The report is used to mock or condemn pro-Russian sympathizers who downplay the threat or defense spending.
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“Luego nuestros prorrusos dirán que si el gasto en defensa, que si Ucrania debería terminar la guerra”
rodriguezcoello.bsky.social · Mastodon ↗
John Ratcliffe CIA Director
Emmanuel Macron President of FranceKremlin/Russia Alleged planner of the drone operationLithuanian Defense Ministry (anonymous source) Source describing the drone threat
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlespostscomments
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International outlets amplify and detail the drone warning
Euronews, Anadolu Agency, Ukrainska Pravda and other outlets pick up and expand on El Mundo's report, confirming the scenario of sea-launched Gerbera drones fired from commercial ships at Spain, France or Italy.
“Utilizarán drones lanzados desde el mar, ocultos en el contenedor de un barco; no es difícil en absoluto…”
— Source close to Lithuania's Defense Ministry, Anonymous defense source · source -
6 outlets CIA reportedly warns of Russian plans to attack Spain, France or Italy with sea-launched drones
first by Українська правда, 9h ago · also Olive Press News Spain, Il Foglio, The Telegraph, Independent UK, Times of Israel
5 more headlines
- Russia ‘plotting drone attack on Spain’, CIA warns European governments Olive Press News Spain · 9h ago
- According to the CIA, attacks using Russian drones are possible in Italy, Spain or France, writes El Mundo Il Foglio · 9h ago
- Russia ‘planning drone attacks on southern Europe’, CIA warns The Telegraph · 6h ago
- CIA warns Russia is preparing attacks on Spain, France or Italy with drones from the sea: report Independent UK · 6h ago
- CIA said to warn Europe of Russian plans to launch drones at Italy, France or Spain Times of Israel · 1h ago
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first by Euronews, 8h ago
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The CIA warned European governments of a possible Russian drone attack on Spain, France, or Italy American intelligence gathered information that Russia is preparing such an attack on one of those Mediterranean countries and shared it with several European governments. Drones
2 more of the top 3 · 27 posts in this stretch
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❗️US intelligence has warned several European governments that Russia may be preparing a drone operation against Spain, France or Italy, El Mundo reports. According to sources familiar with the warning, the scenario involves Gerbera drones concealed aboard merchant ships and launched from the sea. Lithuanian authorities reportedly have information…
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There are questions surrounding Nato's commitiments towards mutual defense. By launching a probing attack into the Baltic States, Putin has the oppertunity to test Nato's resolve. If certain countries decide not to join NATO, then Nato falls apart and Russia gains a lot of leverage. Russia is comming at this from multiple angles by supporting…
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El Mundo reveals CIA warning to Spain, France and Italy — El Mundo reports that US intelligence shared information with several European governments that Russia is preparing drone strikes on Mediterranean countries, using Gerbera drones with a 600 km range concealed in ship containers, information Lithuania has held since shortly after Ratcliffe's Moscow trip.
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Macron convenes meeting after being briefed on the threat — President Emmanuel Macron's unusual reaction, convening a meeting on September 16, is reported to coincide with France being warned that Russia was preparing a possible drone operation against one of the three Mediterranean countries.
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Armed drone incident at Leipzig airport blamed on Russian intelligence — German authorities attribute a recent armed-drone incident at Leipzig airport to Russian intelligence, described as the turning point that hardened Western concern about escalation.
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CIA Director Ratcliffe makes unpublicized trip to Moscow — John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on a US military plane that stopped in Riga; the Wall Street Journal and Politico reported he went to warn Russia against any attack or provocation on NATO.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Anadolu Agency, 7h ago · also C4ISRNET, Defense News, Yahoo
1 more headline
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first by صوت الإمارات, 9h ago
2 more headlines
- CIA warned European governments about a possible Russian drone attack on Spain, France or Italy nashaniva.com · 9h ago
- Three European nations warned of possible Russian aerial drone attack Metro.co.uk · 7h ago
and 1 smaller piece
What people are saying 21 voices from 3 sites · best of 27 · verbatim
- Today
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None of those things are being "ignored", they are just not being met with an outright military response - which is good, because that's precisely what Russia would want to happen.
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C'mon man, our alliance is merely symbolic. It's like the physical metric standard: it's cool from a historical perspective, but it's not followed by anyone in practice. :)
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I mean they CAN. It wouldnt be wise, but then Russia and wise military decisions don't generally go hand in hand
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Alternatively it could be they came across plans for Russian attacks that would be plausible deniable or through "terrorist groups" with "no affiliation" with Russia. But now they have publicly stated that Russia is planning this Russia is likely to not do these attacks as it wont be as secret anymore. So even if the attacks don't happen now its…
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Dude. This sucks. I do not believe that will actually happen, but I can’t put it past Putin to try. Russian active measures seem to have worked. Unfortunately. Buckle your seatbelts
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KYIV POST: CIA Warns of Potential Russian Drone Strikes From Shadow Fleet Vessels https://www. kyivpost.com/post/85321 According to a report by Spain's El Mundo, the CIA has warned European allies that Russia may be planning to launch drones from shadow fleet vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. The alleged attacks could target countries such as…
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Putin is a madman. He doesnt care. He is old. He will try to throw everything he has into this War. Russians are not happy with him. The staged election in Russia last week was a farce. Russian lifes means nothing to him.
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no far left party is pro Russia If they are pro Russia then they are not far left Do you realize that your statement is only true because of the definitions you have given them yourself?
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As a fellow Spaniard, it would depend on the reaction of the government, whoever is in charge. There is a huge pacifist sentiment in Spain, in part fueled by 40 years of dictatorship that used the military as one of its main supports (and the remnants of the military during the dictatorship were never cleaned up), in part fueled because, well, we…
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I think from a military perspective they're laughable. However I think they do have very very powerful destabilising/misinformation/propaganda capability that we're seeing the effects of across the world.
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Here Ukrainians, have some of our cruise missile tech to attack targets deep inside Russia. Go play with those and let us know how you get on.
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I thought Russia would never do any of this if Trump were in office? He’s a big powerful man that Russia fears no? /s
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I can tell you that the incidents at Leipzig as well as other incursions weren‘t ignored by the German state or its population. The same goes for sabotage in Poland and the UK. I don‘t know how it‘s in Poland, but in Germany and the UK the funding of the military is competing with the budget of social services. I‘d say that‘s the opposite of…
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U.S. intelligence has warned Spain, France and Italy that Russia may be preparing a drone operation against one of the three countries, potentially launching Gerbera drones from merchant ships in the Mediterranean. The drones, with a reported range of up to 600 km, could be used
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The CIA warns European governments that Russia is planning a Gerbera drone operation in Spain, France or Italy https://www. byteseu.com/2393943/ # Romania
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The CIA warns of a Russian drone attack on Spain, France or Italy https://www. byteseu.com/2393856/ # Ukraine # UkrainianConflict # UkrainianConflict
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You mean 5 eyes? Yes, that is how 5 eyes works. Obviously. Saying the "US predicated the invasion" is rewriting history and talking down European nations. The US read the report handed to them.
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Brother you dont need to be in NATO for the US and the UK intelligence departments to find out foreign military objectives thats the entire point of intelligence exchange At the time Germany France and Ukraine doubted the information saying it is scaremongering and guess what happened
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Luego nuestros prorrusos dirán que si el gasto en defensa, que si Ucrania debería terminar la guerra La CIA alerta de un ataque rus...
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According to El Mundo, the genocidal russians planned to attack Spain, France and Italy with Gerbera drones launched from container ships in the Mediterranean. This is believed to have triggered CIA Director Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow last month, during which he warned Russia against the attack. https://www. elmundo.es/internacional/2026/…
- Yesterday
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The CIA has warned Spain, France, and Italy that Russia may be preparing drone attacks against them, sharing intelligence with European governments after CIA Director John Ratcliffe's Moscow trip in August, according to El Mundo. Lithuania reportedly knows the drone type