Europe cannot defend against or attribute Russian drone attacks, study finds

European countries lack sufficient defenses against Russian drone attacks and cannot reliably identify their source, according to an IISS study. The report says it is highly likely Russia conducted a drone campaign over Europe, but detection is uneven, legal authorities fragmented, and attribution too slow for deterrence. No government has publicly attributed a sighting to Moscow. The study covered 144 cases in 12 NATO countries and Ireland from August 2024 to February 2026. Germany's Hanns Seidel Foundation, which participated, called the findings alarming.