Russia calls European arms factories making weapons for Ukraine targets
Russia's foreign ministry said European factories producing weapons for Ukraine, including a planned Patriot missile plant in Poland, are potential military targets.
Factories on European territory that produce weapons for Ukraine are legitimate military targets, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday, HLN reported. Maria Zakharova said countries that keep Ukraine's war industry running are guilty of outright escalation.
"Weapons factories in European countries producing arms for Ukraine are potential military targets for Russia: no one should assume that military factories outside Ukrainian territory producing weapons for the regime in Kyiv will be safe. Anyone who thinks that is mistaken," Zakharova said at a press conference.
She said European countries were directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, not merely providing assistance, through opening weapons factories and joint ventures, and that this only delayed rather than brought closer a resolution to the war. Zakharova was responding to a question about Poland's apparent willingness to host a factory producing Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine.
The warning came the same day NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte played down a separate Russian threat to use nuclear weapons if NATO tried to isolate the Kaliningrad exclave, saying President Vladimir Putin knows he can never defeat NATO and is trying to distract from setbacks in Ukraine. Rutte said he saw no acute military threat to NATO countries, noting no Russian troop build-up near Finland or the Baltic states, though he acknowledged Ukraine's problem with air defence, including a shortage of Patriot missiles.
Rutte said Kyiv wants a US licence to produce its own Patriot interceptors, adding that work on this was under way but would not offer a short-term solution, since building the missiles takes time even after licences are granted. He urged NATO members that still have air-defence systems to support Ukraine where they can.
What we know
- Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said European arms factories producing weapons for Ukraine are potential military targets.
- She said countries hosting such factories are directly involved in the conflict, not merely assisting it.
- The comments came in response to a question about a planned Patriot missile factory in Poland.
- NATO chief Mark Rutte, speaking the same day, said he saw no acute military threat to NATO states.
- Rutte said Ukraine wants a US licence to produce its own Patriot air-defence missiles.
Why it matters for Europe
The threat follows Russia's warning to NATO that it would use its full arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if Kaliningrad were isolated, part of a wider pattern of Russian statements this week aimed at European capitals over their support for Ukraine. A Patriot missile factory in Poland would mark a significant expansion of Europe's own air-defence production capacity at a time when Ukraine says a shortage of interceptors is one of its biggest vulnerabilities.
Sources
Reported by 1 reports from 1 independent outlets in 1 countries.
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Questions and answers
- What did Russia say about European arms factories?
- A foreign ministry spokeswoman said factories in European countries producing weapons for Ukraine are potential military targets for Russia.
- What prompted the remarks?
- A question about Poland's apparent willingness to host a factory producing Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine.
- How did NATO respond?
- Secretary General Mark Rutte said the same day that he saw no acute military threat to NATO countries and that Russia was trying to distract from setbacks in Ukraine.
This article was written with AI assistance from 1 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.