European countries that produce weapons for Kiev risk a direct conflict with Moscow, the Defense Ministry has warned

Kiev's Western backers want to ramp up production of long-range drones to prop up Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry has said, warning the move is bound to drag European nations into a direct conflict with Moscow.

The ministry issued the warning on Wednesday, publishing a list of facilities which manufacture drones and their components, scattered across Europe and disguised as Ukrainian or joint ventures. Kiev's backers have been making an effort to increase output of the facilities and sharply boost their funding, the ministry said.

Moscow treats the alleged plans as a "deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political situation throughout Europe" and a transformation of the countries involved "into Ukraine's strategic rear area."

"The implementation of the terrorist attack scenarios against Russia, announced by representatives of the Kiev regime, using supposedly 'Ukrainian' UAVs manufactured in Europe, is leading to unpredictable consequences," the ministry stated, referring to repeated threats voiced by top Ukrainian officials to ramp up long-range attacks deep into Russia.

The ministry named multiple drone manufacturing facilities located in the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Poland. At least four sites producing drone components were identified in Italy, with several plants involved in such activities located in Türkiye, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Israel.

Ukraine has been regularly launching one-way drones deep into Russian territory, targeting assorted civilian infrastructure, industrial sites, and residential buildings. The attacks have seemingly intensified in recent weeks, with Kiev sending in hundreds of fixed-wing UAVs daily.

Russian officials have described the strikes as indiscriminate "terrorist" attacks aimed at compensating for frontline setbacks the Ukrainian military has been suffering. Moscow has retaliated with a long-range strike campaign of its own against dual-use infrastructure and military installations, maintaining it never targets purely civilian sites.

(RT.com)