For 19 months, Russia conducted a coordinated aerial reconnaissance campaign over the territory of more than 12 NATO member states and Ireland.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, citing data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

According to the researchers, 144 incidents involving Russian drones conducting surveillance of Western civilian, military, and nuclear facilities were documented.

The peak of this activity occurred in September and November 2025, when more than 30 incidents per month were recorded.

Among them, 24 Russian drones violated Polish airspace, while another incident disrupted operations at Copenhagen Airport.

In December of the same year, five UAVs were detected over Île Longue, France’s strategic naval base for nuclear submarines.

According to the CCD, the drones were launched directly from tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, which operated in international waters with their transponders switched off.

According to the Center’s assessment, the operation aimed to identify weaknesses in NATO’s air defense system, study military logistics, and exert psychological pressure.

The CCD emphasized that these findings confirm the ongoing militarization of Russia’s supposedly “commercial” shadow fleet.

In practice, it is being transformed into a launch platform for hybrid military operations against Europe.