Russia called European arms factories working for Ukraine potential military targets

Russia said that defense industry enterprises in European countries producing weapons for Ukraine may be considered by Moscow as military targets. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the statement on September 30.

As reported by Reuters, Zakharova made this statement at a briefing, answering a question about Poland's willingness to host a production facility for Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine's benefit.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry representative, Moscow considers European countries directly involved in the war due to military support for Kyiv. She claimed that defense enterprises outside Ukraine should not consider themselves safe from possible Russian strikes if the weapons they produce are intended for the Ukrainian army.

Thus, the Russian Foreign Ministry extended the threat of possible strikes not only to Ukrainian military industrial facilities, which the Russian army regularly attacks, but also to enterprises located on the territory of European states involved in producing weapons for Kyiv.

The statement came after Poland offered to host production of Patriot missiles if Ukraine receives the necessary US licenses. Polish Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said that a facility could be built on Polish territory so that production would be in a safer location.

Warsaw is simultaneously negotiating the creation of a Patriot missile maintenance center and in the future expects to localize their production. Poland is considering this project separately from a possible Ukrainian production line.

Russian officials have already reacted to these plans. The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, answering a question about possible Patriot production in Poland, urged attention to the Russian military doctrine. This was reported by Polish outlet RMF24.

Ukraine is seeking to localize production of Patriot interceptors due to their key role in defense against Russian ballistic missiles. On September 22, Volodymyr Zelenskyy after meeting with US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian and American teams continue working on launching production of such missiles. This is stated in a report from the Office of the President of Ukraine.

NATO countries, however, say they will continue military support for Ukraine. The Russian side has repeatedly called Western arms supplies participation in the conflict, while Alliance states view assistance to Kyiv as support for Ukraine's right to self-defense.