“The Kremlin is threatening Kyiv’s European backers with attacks on specific targets within their countries. Recently, the Defense Ministry in Moscow released two lists. One enumerates eleven "branches of Ukrainian enterprises in Europe" that allegedly produce attack drones or parts for them; the second names ten "foreign companies" manufacturing components for such weapons.
Specific addresses are provided for each, including locations in the British cities of London and Leicester, Riga (Latvia), Prague (Czech Republic), Venice (Italy), and the German cities of Hanau and Munich; according to Google Street View, one of the addresses listed is concealed as a residential building, while another looks like Feldkirchen in the district of Munich.
The ministry’s move may have been a response to German-Ukrainian government consultations held in Berlin on Tuesday, during which cooperation regarding combat drones was also a topic of discussion. Moscow stated that "a number of European countries" had decided in late March—"against the backdrop of mounting losses" suffered by Ukrainian armed forces—to supply Ukraine with more drones "for attacks on Russian territory." This was characterized as a "deliberate step that abruptly exacerbates the military-political situation across the entire European continent and gradually transforms these countries into a strategic hinterland for Ukraine." The ministry reiterated the Kremlin’s narrative that such actions were dragging European nations "into a war with Russia," and emphasized that the "European public" needed "not only to understand the true reasons behind the threats to their security but also to know the addresses and locations" of the drone companies.
This level of openness appears new. In July 2024, Dmitry Peskov—spokesman for President Vladimir Putin—had responded to reports based on US intelligence of a planned Russian assassination attempt against the CEO of the German defense contractor Rheinmetall (who does not currently appear on the lists) as a "fake."
Now, Dmitry Medvedev—Putin’s deputy chair of the National Security Council—clearly emphasized that the ministry’s publication was "a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces."
Writing on his X profile dedicated to English-language posts (the platform is accessible in Russia only via VPN services), Medvedev added: "When attacks become reality depends on what happens next." "Sleep well, European partners!"
With this statement, the Kremlin is escalating its threats directed at Europeans—though notably not at the Americans whom Putin is courting.
The Kremlin’s intensified threatening stance also includes a new bill that the Duma—the lower house of the Russian parliament—approved in its first reading on Tuesday. The legislation aims to authorize Putin to take "measures"—such as deploying the military extraterritorially—to "protect" Russian citizens detained or otherwise held abroad. This provision duplicates existing authorizations; observers speculate that the move might be intended, for instance, to deter Western nations from seizing tankers belonging to the so-called "shadow fleet." [1]
1. Moskau droht Europa mit Angriffen auf konkrete Ziele: Verteidigungsministerium veröffentlicht die Adressen von Drohnenunternehmen / Von Friedrich Schmidt. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 17 Apr 2026: 6.
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