Russia's 10 new secret drone bases capable of striking NATO exposed

Russia's 10 new secret drone bases capable of striking NATO exposed The Kremlin says its drones could attack the UK from bases it has built inside its borders, but experts say it's highly likely the drones would be intercepted Russia could launch drones at British shores from new long-range drone bases built in secrecy, according to reports. A new investigation by The Telegraph found Russia has constructed 10 drone bases along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus. They are home to nearly 60 ‘launch rails’ — used to start fixed-wing drone attacks. The rails have launched some of the drones that have bombarded Ukraine from the air, but Russia is reportedly exploring the possibility of attacking Polish soil, a NATO member, after another NATO country, Romania, reported intercepting a Russian drone in its airspace last week. The defensive alliance says it is ‘ready to defend every inch of allied territory’. Of the 59 launch rails analysed by specialists, 20 were found to be ‘extended’, and therefore capable of kick-starting a long-range drone attack. The Kremlin has claimed its drones could reach the UK, but it’s thought any attempted strike on British shores would be intercepted before it could do any damage. The revelations serve to further underscore the importance of drone warfare in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. At the weekend, Ukraine launched one of the biggest air assaults of the four-year-long war with 1,478 drones and nine cruise missiles fired at Russia over a 24-hour period. On Sunday (August 16), Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. Around 150 Ukrainian drones caused a forest fire via an attack in the Russian region of Rostov on the same weekend. They came after Russia attacked Kyiv from the air days ago. President Zelensky confirmed drones had done much of the damage. “Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” he said. “Since this morning, air raid alerts have continued in many regions – the Russians launched another wave of drones.”