European countries are not sufficiently prepared to counter Russia’s drone attacks and cannot clearly attribute these attacks at present, according to a study conducted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) based in London, published on Sunday, dpa reports.
The IISS study, in which the Hanns Seidel Foundation from Germany participated, found that European states have not been able to clearly attribute drone attacks to Russia, such as those on airports or sensitive military installations.
The study analyzed 144 incidents that occurred between August 2024 and February 2026 in 12 NATO member states and Ireland.
"This report estimates that it is highly likely that the Kremlin has conducted a campaign targeting Europe using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," the study shows.
"Our main conclusion is that Europe's current architecture for countering drone attacks still does not match the threat, despite NATO, the European Union, and national governments paying more attention to this issue: detection is uneven, legal authorities are divided, response options are often disproportionate, and attribution remains too slow to support timely deterrence," the study states.
The study asserts that attributing attacks remains a key challenge for European governments.
"One reason suggested to us by European officials as part of our research is that relevant governments have focused on national response rather than linking incidents across Europe," the study shows.
"It is alarming. Europe is not yet sufficiently prepared for this form of hybrid threat," said Klaus Holetschek, President of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.