
Posted: 31st December 2025
It was a taste of what could become one of the decisive threats next year,
when the flight path between Dublin and Britain’s Sellafield nuclear
reactor was disrupted by unidentified drones. On the incoming jet was
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, minutes away from
landing at Dublin Airport, slightly ahead of schedule. After an Irish naval
vessel reported that a number of drones were manoeuvring 36km north-east of
the city – Sellafield is just 200km from the capital – Ireland’s
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said it was a “co-ordinated threat”
to “put pressure” on Europe and Ukraine. Just days later, the menace
shifted. The French Navy opened fire on drones detected over a highly
sensitive site housing the country’s fleet of nuclear submarines. The
drones at Ile Longue naval base were ultimately intercepted with jamming
systems, but their presence over one of the continent’s most heavily
protected sites sent a clear message: Europe is waking up to significant
vulnerabilities to its military and civilian nuclear sites, and Russia is
widely suspected to be behind the activity.
National News 26th Dec 2025
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2025/12/26/europes-nuclear-facilities-put-on-a-2026-drone-alert/