Russia rejects ‘absurd’ claim it sent drone towards French aircraft carrier

2026-02-27 - 12:53

The French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle (R91) is docked at the North Port in Sweden. (EPA Images pic) MOSCOW: The Kremlin said today it was “absurd” to suggest that a drone jammed near a French aircraft carrier in Sweden earlier this week was Russian, after Stockholm said there was a “strong link” to Moscow. Stockholm said a Swedish navy vessel spotted and jammed the drone on Wednesday in the Oresund Strait, around 13km from France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which was there at a stopover on the way to a Nato exercise. On Thursday, Sweden’s defence minister Pal Jonson told the broadcaster SVT that the drone “probably” came from Russia, “as there was a Russian military vessel in the immediate vicinity at the time of the facts”. When asked about the allegation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, including AFP, it was “quite an absurd statement”. He added that the Kremlin had no more information about the incident. According to the Swedish authorities, its navy jammed the drone using electronic signals to attempt to break the connection between the aircraft and its operator, or disrupt its navigation tools. The nearby Baltic Sea is a point of contention between Russia and Nato countries, especially since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. Nato’s easternmost countries have reported numerous drone sightings in recent months, with some pointing the finger at Russia. There is growing concern in Europe that such disruption could be part of hybrid war tactics by Moscow against European nations which have backed Ukraine.