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The Russian Defence Ministry has published a list of European manufacturers that allgedly produce drones for Ukraine, saying such joint ventures constitute a “step towards escalation.”
The ministry also said that such collaboration risks “increasingly dragging European countries into war,” while one Russian official called the manufacturers potential military targets.
The Russian Defence Ministry says that in late March, the leadership of a number of EU countries decided to increase the production and supply of drones to Ukraine for use in strikes on Russian territory and to expand the financing of enterprises located in European countries for the production of attack drones and their components.
“We regard this decision as a deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military and political situation on the entire European continentand the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear,” the Russian ministry said in a statement, stressing that strikes against Russia using drones produced in Europe could lead to “unpredictable consequences.”
“The European public should not only clearly understand the true causes of threats to their security, but also know the addresses as well as the locations of ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ enterprises for the production of UAVs and components for Ukraine on the territory of their countries,” the ministry said.
The published list includes 11 branches of alleged Ukrainian companies producing drones and components, among them locations in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Latvia.
Among the foreign enterprises allegedly producing UAVs and components for Ukraine, the coordinates of 10 companies in Germany, Spain and Italy have been listed.
Military targets
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former President Dmitry Medvedev said that the information “should be perceived as a list of potential targets for the Russian Armed Forces.”
“The Russian Defence Ministry’s statement should be understood extremely literally: the publication of production sites for drones and other military equipment in Europe is a register of potential legitimate targets for the Russian armed forces,” Medvedev wrote in a post on X.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European countries have provided Kyiv with extensive financial and military aid, supplying the armed forces with weapons systems and ammunition.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed agreements with Germany and Norway on the joint production of drones. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed interest in such cooperation.
“Supporting Ukraine is not only a moral duty, but also a strategic necessity. Europe’s security is at stake,” she said after a meeting with Zelenskyy in Rome.
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