Russian Embassy in Sweden Says It Was ‘Attacked’ by Drones

Russia’s Embassy in Sweden said Thursday it was “attacked” by two drones overnight and blamed Swedish authorities for failing to ensure security at the diplomatic mission.

The embassy said one drone dropped a container filled with red paint onto its grounds at around 2 a.m. local time.

“A second drone, which had a fake improvised explosive device attached to it, crashed (most likely intentionally) onto our property in the immediate vicinity of the embassy building,” it said.

The Russian mission condemned what it called “more than just a simple provocation, but a blatant attempt to intimidate the staff of the Russian mission.”

“To that we’ll say quite frankly: it won’t work,” the Russian embassy wrote on Telegram.

Photos shared by the embassy showed a quadcopter drone and what appears to be a plastic bag or container nearby on the pavement covered in red paint.

Russia’s embassy accused Swedish law enforcement of doing “little more than filing formal reports” into “dozens” of similar acts of vandalism that have been recorded in recent years.

Similar attacks on Russian diplomatic property in Sweden have been reported since at least 2024. In Thursday’s statement, the Russian Embassy in Stockholm said investigations into the previous incidents have yielded zero results.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously suggested that Swedish authorities may have “authorized” the drone incidents on Russian diplomatic property in the country.

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