The Ministry of Defense headed by Margarita Robles yesterday maintained a cautious stance after EL MUNDO revealed the alert from the US intelligence services about a possible Russian attack with drones against Spain, France or Italy: there was no public reaction to the information. The minister held two meetings in the morning, with the units dependent on the Land Operational Command (MOT) deployed in Ceuta - by videoconference - and with the Chief of the Defense Staff, Admiral General Teodoro López Calderón, at the Ministry's headquarters. In the afternoon, Robles presided over the 'Armada 2026 Awards' gala, which was held in Madrid. His portfolio echoed some of these acts on his social networks, but nevertheless there was no public statement throughout the day about the alert issued by the CIA, the US intelligence agency.
The Ministry, however, is aware of the threat to European security - and its airspace - that Russia poses. Different factors account for this: the Spanish deployment in operations on the eastern flank of the continent under NATO mandate, the reinforcement that has been launched in this area in recent years, the successive visits of Minister Robles to the soldiers stationed there and, also, her own statements in the past.
As far as air defense of the European territory is concerned, the Spanish Armed Forces participate in Operation Persistent Effort with an Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit in Estonia and another in Latvia, in addition to contributing to the Reinforced Air Surveillance of the area with air forces deployed in Romania and Bulgaria.
Regarding the first, Spain sent an Air Defense Unit with NASAMS missiles to Latvia in June 2022, just a few months after the start of the Russian offensive on Ukraine, to protect the Lielvarde base, in the center of the country. The same was activated by the Ministry of Defense in Estonia in 2023, to safeguard the Ämari air base. In this area, Russian provocations against NATO do not stop, and the forces deployed there have to be activated more and more frequently to remind Russia that it cannot enter its territory. In fact, last Tuesday, two Spanish fighters intercepted and escorted a Russian surveillance aircraft flying over the Baltic. The plane remained over international waters at all times and there was no violation of the airspace of Estonia or any other allied country.
Yesterday, another episode. This time, in Romania, where two Spanish fighter jets were activated due to the presence of Russian drones in NATO territory. At dawn, two F-18 aircraft took off from Mihail Koglniceanu Air Base 57 to monitor the situation. The air alert ceased at 5:44 a.m., and it is the fourth episode of this type that the Spanish pilots at this base have faced this month. In August, there were 15 threats, and two Spanish fighters even shot down a Russian drone in NATO territory for the first time. In Romania, as in Bulgaria, Spain contributes to protecting the security of airspace with personnel and material such as fighter planes or early warning radars.
The Ministry of Defense has closely followed the performance of its military deployed in these areas, aware that some of these countries, "due to their geographical location, live in fear and uncertainty." This is what Robles conveyed in the videoconference he held in July of last year with the contingents deployed on the eastern flank. The minister visited the detachment in Romania a little over a week ago. In December 2024, the Spanish contingent deployed to Slovakia, and a year ago it moved to Lithuania.
That visit was made 10 days after the Ministry of Defense announced the sending of more troops to reinforce the deterrence position on NATO's eastern flank. "[Vladimir] Putin is not going to intimidate us," the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, wrote then, echoing the new deployment and showing that this was in response to the threat posed by Russia - days before, the Russian president had launched a drone attack against Polish airspace -.
"It gives the impression that if I live in Madrid or London I am safer than if I live in Tallinn. And that is not true, because the latest Russian missiles, when they were launched, descended to five times the speed of sound, and they take only five or 10 minutes longer to reach Madrid or London than they take to reach Tallinn or Vilnius," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the time. Robles had spoken along the same lines in March 2024, in an interview in La Vanguardia: "Putin is an enormous threat to neighboring countries, but also to the international community as a whole. Today, a ballistic missile can perfectly reach Spain from Russia," the minister warned. And, thus, he launched a "wake-up call" to "Spanish society." "Sometimes I have the perception that we are not aware of the enormous danger that exists at this moment," he added.
