Russia or its allies are launching reconnaissance drones over the routes the United States and its allies use to transport military supplies through eastern Germany.
This is stated in an investigation by The New York Times and the German media outlet WirtschaftsWoche.
According to media reports, the drone flights are concentrated in the eastern German state of Thuringia. Some of the drones were manufactured in Iran, and German intelligence officials believe that at least some of them were launched from ships in the Baltic Sea.
US officials confirmed the flights but said they were unable to trace their origin. They believe the drones were operated by Russians or people working for Russian intelligence.
Seth Jones, who studies this issue for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in a commentary for the NYT that drone flights over supply routes are “pure espionage” as Russia tries to learn which companies are making weapons for Ukraine and how they are being transported to Poland and then to Ukraine.
According to him, surveillance using drones is most likely related to combat intelligence, which should give the Russian army a better idea of what weapons it will encounter and when.
Additionally, according to Jones and Western officials, if Russia decides to step up its sabotage operations in Europe in the future, it could use the information gathered by these drones.
- Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have stepped up sabotage in Europe. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, in its report from March this year, claimed that the number of Russian attacks in Europe quadrupled between 2022 and 2023, and then tripled again between 2023 and 2024.
- At the same time, the first six months of this year saw a significant decrease in Russian activity — only four incidents were classified as sabotage or attempted sabotage by Russia.
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