Russia is pressing on two fronts of NATO’s periphery at once. A Telegraph investigation has identified a growing network of drone-launch sites near Ukraine that could eventually reach NATO territory, while German regional media have separately reported Russian warship movements into the Baltic. The two developments are reported independently, but together illustrate the range of pressure Russia is applying along its western periphery.
The Telegraph identified 10 sites with at least 59 mechanical launch rails near Russia’s borders with Ukraine and Belarus, replacing runways and enabling rapid, multi-directional launches. Seven sites have already been used in strikes on Kyiv, and about 20 rails appear built for Russia’s newer Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet drones, which Ukrainian officials say can travel nearly 1,000 kilometers, placing Warsaw within theoretical range. DroneSec chief executive Mike Monnik told the Telegraph the network shows Russia has “significantly expanded” its ability to strike Ukraine and pressure NATO states, with much of the output supplied by Russia’s Alabuga drone-production hub in Tatarstan.
At the same time Bild reported that Russia moved the guided-missile frigate Admiral Kasatonov into the Baltic Sea, days after the destroyer Admiral Levchenko arrived in the same waters. The Kasatonov, an Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate, is reportedly capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles and Zircon hypersonic missiles. The movements coincided with President Vladimir Putin’s warning that Russia would retaliate for Western seizures of its sanctioned “shadow fleet,” which he called “piracy and robbery,” according to the Associated Press, though no official has confirmed a direct link between the warning and the ship movements.
