CIA warns France, Spain and Italy to brace for Russian drone attacks launched from merchant ships in the Mediterranean

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026 · last updated 25 September 2026.

The CIA has reportedly alerted the governments of France, Spain and Italy that Russia intends to launch drones hidden inside merchant shipping containers, with ports, airports and critical infrastructure across southern Europe in the crosshairs. The warning came to light after Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Moscow is redirecting its attention away from eastern Europe and the Baltics and toward the Mediterranean. A source with close ties to Lithuania's defence ministry confirmed the scheme, noting that deploying container-launched drones would be "not difficult at all."

Russia is said to be planning to use the Gerbera drone — roughly 2m long, catapult-launched from container ships, with a 600km range.

Drones launched from Mediterranean merchant vessels could reach Madrid, Andalusia, most of Italy, Toulouse and Marseille within strike range.

The warnings emerged shortly after CIA director John Ratcliffe made a reported trip to Moscow on 25 August, said to be a direct warning against attacking NATO countries.