The Russian Defense Ministry threatened on Wednesday to target factories in Europe, Turkey and Israel which it claimed were manufacturing drones, or drone components, for Ukraine.
The ministry published two lists: “Branches of Ukrainian Companies in Europe” and “Foreign Enterprises Producing Components.” The second list included two addresses for Israeli firm Elsight Ltd., one in Haifa and one in Or Yehuda.
Russia claims that Elsight produces “cellular network connectivity modules” for Ukrainian drones. Elsight works with European-based defense drone manufacturers, according to its website. Its corporate headquarters is in Ramat Gan.
“We regard this decision as a deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political situation across the entire European continent and the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear,” the Russian ministry said.
“The European public should both clearly understand the true reasons of threats to their security and know the addresses and locations of ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ enterprises producing UAVs and components for Ukraine on the territory of their countries,” the statement continued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deputy on the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned on X that the threat must be taken “literally.”
“The list of European facilities which make drones & other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces. When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next. Sleep well, European partners!” he tweeted.
Euro News reported that Russia was responding to an agreement reached at the end of March by several European Union countries to increase production and supply of UAVs to Ukraine.
The ministry’s announcement came the same day as a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contract Group (UDCG) in Berlin. UDCG includes some 50 nations coordinating their military aid to Ukraine. The group was set up by the Biden administration but is under European control.
This week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blitzed several European countries to discuss what he termed a “Drone Deal.”
In Berlin on Tuesday, Zelensky announced a “bilateral drone deal” with Germany “covering various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defense systems” worth up to $4.7 billion.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it was “a very clear signal” to Russia regarding his country’s continuing commitment to Ukraine’s defense. “We will not waver in our efforts to defend Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy then traveled to Norway on Tuesday, where he signed a joint declaration on enhanced defense and security cooperation with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre enabling the production of Ukrainian UAVs in Norway.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy visited Italy, where he met with Italian President Georgia Meloni and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
Zelenskyy stressed Ukraine’s “military expertise and defense capabilities in drones, missiles, electronic warfare, data sharing, and more. We propose combining all of this with our partners’ capabilities. It is significant that Italy has shown interest in this format of cooperation. Giorgia and I agreed that our teams will work through the details of a drone deal between our countries.”
Britain announced on Wednesday it would deliver 120,000 advanced drones to Ukraine this year. It called it the “biggest ever drone package for Ukraine to push back Putin.”
