Russia ‘mounted drone surveillance of European nuclear sites over 18 months’

Dan Sabbagh

Defence and security editor

The Kremlin orchestrated a concerted surveillance campaign using drones launched from shadow fleet vessels over an 18-month period which targeted nuclear sites in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, researchers have said.

Analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of 144 incidents in more than a dozen countries beginning in late 2024 concluded Russian intelligence had operated with “substantial impunity”, leaving authorities across Europe flat-footed and confused.

Drones were repeatedly spotted over airbases and airports, yet none were captured or shot down by western militaries, exposing a strategic failure in Nato air defences that the thinktank said had been quietly acknowledged across Europe.

RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, a UK base that was being prepared to house US nuclear weapons, and France’s nuclear submarine base at Île Longue in Brittany were among the sites targeted by unarmed drones believed to have been launched at sea.

European governments have been reluctant to accuse Russia of being behind the incidents, but Charlie Edwards, a senior IISS fellow, said “every government we spoke to said they would welcome the report being published”.

Over in Germany, chancellor Friedrich Merz has laid out his plans for wide-ranging reforms in a bid to revive the country’s struggling economy and counter the rise of the far-right ahead of key land elections this autumn.

The package of reforms includes income tax cuts of a volume of €10bn to be financed by increased taxes on the wealthy, as well as changes to the pension system that will eventually see the retirement age rise to 67, AFP said.

The tax relief ​will ​be mainly funded by ​raising the top rate of tax ​to 47% ‌from 45% ​for ​the highest earners with an annual income of €280,000 or more, Reuters said.

The reforms also include an action plan ​against benefit fraud and abolishing workers’ ability to obtain sicknotes by phone, as well as a goal to cut staffing by ⁠8% in federal ministries through digitisation, Reuters said.

Merz’s CDU/CSU trails nationally in all polls behind the far-right Alternative für Deutschland by three to five percentage points, with junior coalition partner SPD in fourth place, behind the Greens.

In September, closely watched local elections will be held in Saxony-Anhalt, which could see AfD come to power for the first time, with the party consistently polling at above 40%.

At least 13 killed in Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv – full story

Shaun Walker

in Kyiv

At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured overnight in Kyiv, local authorities said, as Russia launched its latest massive drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Thursday.

Fires were burning at sites across the capital as dawn broke, with strikes or debris hitting residential buildings in several districts and a hotel on one of Kyiv’s central boulevards. The death toll of 13 may rise, as local emergency services said 86 people were injured, 70 of whom had been hospitalised.

Loud explosions shook the capital for several hours as waves of drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles came towards the capital and Ukrainian air defence attempted to shoot them down.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said that at one site the first to ‌sixth floors of an apartment building ‌had collapsed after a direct hit. At another location, people were pulled out from under rubble after part of a block of flats collapsed.

Russia regularly launches combined missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital and there had been speculation for some days that another massive attack was in the works. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians on Wednesday that it could come that night. “I am asking all our people to be extra careful, take care of yourselves and your children, and use shelters, this is very important,” he said, speaking on a visit to Dublin.

EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded to the overnight attacks on Kyiv, saying she will propose further sanctions on Russia.

“Words of condemnation alone will not stop attacks on Kyiv. Only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow can do that,” she said.

“Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to the strikes. The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed. We keep raising the cost until Russia understands it cannot win.”

Kallas added that all EU staff in Kyiv are accounted for, as she thanked them for their service in these difficult circumstances.

Morning opening: At least 13 killed in overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv

Jakub Krupa

At least 13 people were killed in overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv and Ukraine, hours after president Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut his visit to Ireland short as he warned that Moscow was preparing a “massive attack”.

At least 86 people were injured during the strikes.

Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, “most of them ordinary residential buildings,” with damage also reported “to an ambulance station, a research institute, a hotel, and [local] businesses.”

“Air defence supplies for Ukraine are an absolute and critical priority,” he stressed, repeating his request for a US licence to produce Patriot missiles locally in Ukraine.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha urged Ukraine’s allies to help Kyiv strengthen its air defence.

“Do not delay decisions on air defence for Ukraine! This is our main request to our partners after Kyiv suffered a night of horror,” he said.

I will bring you all the updates from Kyiv.

Separately, German chancellor Friedrich Merz is presenting his government’s new reform agenda this morning, hoping to send to gain new momentum after criticism of his lacklustre performance so far. I will bring you the key lines on that too.

It’s Thursday, 2 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.