Russia has constructed a network of secret bases along its western borders equipped with newly built launch sites for its most advanced long-range attack drones, some of which could bring NATO territory, including the Polish capital Warsaw, within striking range, according to an investigation published by the Telegraph.
Analysing satellite imagery and leaked documents, the newspaper identified 10 Kremlin sites featuring freshly constructed launch pads, alongside at least 59 new launch rails, mechanical guide tracks used to fire fixed-wing drones without a conventional runway, strung along Russia’s borders with Ukraine and Belarus.
Seven of the 10 identified bases have already been used in recent strikes on Kyiv, the investigation found, with their proximity to the frontier allowing Moscow to mount mass aerial assaults designed to overwhelm Ukraine’s depleted air defences.
Some facilities were built on former military airfields and civilian airports, while others have been carved out of open countryside, including sites located close to villages. One base alone has storage capacity for more than 1,000 drones, the Telegraph reported, with further launch rails under construction at several locations.
NATO: How Far Can These New Drones Reach?
Central to the concern is Russia’s rapid upgrading of its Iranian-designed Shahed drone into newer, jet-powered variants known as the Geran-4 and Geran-5. According to leaked Ukrainian government documents cited by the newspaper, the latest models can travel fast enough to evade air defence systems while carrying a 90-kilogramme payload, with a stated range of roughly 1,000 kilometres, or around 620 miles.
Mapped against that range, launch sites on Russian-controlled territory would place most of Ukraine, the Baltic states, Poland, Romania and parts of Türkiye within reach, while some bases would put Warsaw specifically within striking distance.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, has separately warned that Russia is now fitting Geran-type drones with air-to-air missiles, potentially enabling them to target aircraft defending Kyiv’s airspace. The Kremlin has claimed that older, slower drone variants could reach as far as the United Kingdom, though the Telegraph said any such attempt would very likely be intercepted before reaching British shores.
NATO: Is Poland A Specific Target?
European and American intelligence officials believe Moscow may be weighing an armed provocation on Polish soil, according to the Telegraph, potentially involving drone or missile strikes on critical infrastructure or an operation engineered to be falsely blamed on Ukraine. The newspaper was explicit, however, that there is currently no evidence Russia is preparing a direct attack on Poland or any other NATO member state.
The assessment follows a Russian Kh-101 missile strike on Polish soil in late July, which left a 10-metre crater in agricultural land roughly 94 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, and comes weeks after US intelligence officials warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could authorise hybrid operations or cyberattacks against allied territory to test the alliance’s unity.
How Has NATO Responded To The Findings?
A NATO official told the Telegraph the alliance was “ready to defend every inch of allied territory” and would continue to “enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones.” The official added that drones had “fundamentally altered the character of modern warfare and have become a decisive factor on the battlefield,” and said NATO was “rapidly expanding our ability to produce, operate and neutralise drones at scale.”
The reassurance echoes language NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte used in May, after a Russian drone struck an apartment block in the Romanian city of Galați, injuring two people. Rutte told Romanian President Nicușor Dan at the time that the alliance stood in “absolute solidarity,” warning that “Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all.”
NATO: What Comes Next For The Alliance?
The Telegraph’s findings add to a mounting body of evidence that Moscow is significantly expanding its long-range drone warfare capacity even as fighting in Ukraine continues, deepening unease within NATO over the alliance’s readiness to counter a fast-evolving aerial threat.
With additional launch infrastructure reportedly still under construction at several of the identified sites, and drone production continuing at facilities such as Russia’s Alabuga special economic zone, which manufactures an estimated 6,000 units annually, officials on both sides of the Atlantic are likely to face continued pressure to bolster air defences along NATO’s eastern flank in the months ahead.
