Russia Identifies Ukrainian Military Production Sites

The Russian Ministry of Defense has published a list of international companies located across Europe and other regions that it alleges are producing strike drones for Ukraine, designating these facilities as potential military targets.

On April 15, 2026, the ministry released the names and addresses of these enterprises through its official channels. According to reporting by UNITED24 Media, the documentation identifies 21 facilities in total. Eleven of these are categorized as Branches of Ukrainian companies in Europe, with specific sites listed in cities including London, Munich, Riga, Vilnius, and Prague.

The remaining ten companies, located in Madrid, Venice, and Haifa, were labeled as foreign enterprises that manufacture components for the Ukrainian military. The list of affected countries includes the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Italy, Israel, the Czech Republic, and Turkey.

Russian Justification and Threats

Moscow stated that the publication of these addresses was intended to inform the European public about the locations of these Ukrainian and joint enterprises. The ministry argued that citizens of these countries should be aware of what it describes as the true causes of threats to their security by knowing the exact locations of drone and component manufacturing sites within their own borders.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Head of Russia’s Security Council, addressed the release via social media. He stated that the provided information represents a list of potential targets for the Armed Forces of Russia.

Ukrainian Intelligence Response

In a concurrent development on April 15, 2026, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) released data regarding the structure of Shvabe, a Russian holding company that is part of the state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec.

The DIU identified 48 companies belonging to Shvabe that produce Russian military equipment. While the holding company is positioned as a manufacturer of medical equipment, the DIU claims these firms are involved in producing a variety of military goods, including reconnaissance and strike UAVs, targeting systems for armored vehicles and aircraft, thermal imaging equipment, and components for guided artillery munitions and ballistic missiles.

The Ukrainian intelligence agency noted that Shvabe utilizes foreign assets to expand its access to components and technologies, specifically mentioning Shvabe (Minsk) in Belarus and Shvabe Opto-Electronics Co., Ltd in China.

The DIU further highlighted that 30 of the firms within the Shvabe holding have not yet been sanctioned by any country in the sanctions coalition. These include:

• The Moscow-based Sapfir plant, which manufactures photoreceptors for Krasnopol-M2 guided artillery shells and photodiodes for Iskander-M ballistic rockets.
• The Central Design Bureau Foton, which produces thermal imaging devices and laser rangefinders.
• Germaniy JSC, which produces germanium and its compounds for fibre optics, infrared optics, and the radio-electronics and nuclear industries.

The DIU stated that Shvabe is the eighth Rostec holding company to have its structure posted on the War&Sanctions portal, bringing the total number of identified Rostec companies involved in supporting Russian military capabilities to 553.