A Russian drone reportedly departed from a ship and approached a major aircraft carrier, causing tensions between Russia and the West to skyrocket. The Russian drone reportedly approached the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle while it was docked in Sweden, according to SVT.
Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy, is currently stationed in the port of Malmö as part of a strategic exercise and other activities. Described as a serious security breach linked to the vessel’s visit, it is understood the drone launched from a nearby Russian ship and moved toward the carrier. Swedish defense forces identified the drone and carried out a jamming operation, after which it disappeared.
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It is unclear at this time unclear whether the drone returned to the Russian vessel or crashed into the sea.
Commissioned in 2001, Charles de Gaulle is the world’s only operational nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside of the United States Navy. The 42,500-ton vessel is roughly 261.5 meters long and typically carries 30 to 40 aircraft.
Posting on X at 4am UTC, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command (Dowództwo Operacyjne Rodzajów Sił Zbrojnych) wrote: “Attention. In connection with another massive attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine in recent times, conducted using air assault means, the operation of Polish and allied aviation has commenced in our airspace.”
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, on the night of February 26, the Poltava region was attacked by Russians, with strikes on industrial enterprises and private households in the city and the region. Damage to technological equipment and production facilities, as well as to a private residential building and power transmission lines, was reported.
Restoration work is currently ongoing, the service said, adding that the fires had been extinguished and that no deaths or injuries had been reported.
Two hours after its first post on X, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command posted an update stating that military aviation operations in Polish airspace had concluded and that ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems had returned to standard operational activities.