Russia says drones dropped red paint on embassy in Sweden

STOCKHOLM: Russia’s embassy in Stockholm said Thursday it had been the victim of an overnight drone attack that dropped a mock-up of an improvised explosive device and red paint on its premises.

Stockholm police told AFP they were investigating “vandalism at an embassy” in the capital but could not confirm which country’s mission it was.

“The investigation is classified,” Stockholm police spokesman Daniel Wikdahl said.

The Russian embassy posted photographs on its Facebook page of drones lying on the ground, one of which appeared to have an object strapped to it that was connected to wires, while the other was covered in red paint. A third photo showed a container of red paint.

“This … is not just a provocation, but an obvious attempt to intimidate the Russian mission staff,” the embassy wrote.

It said Swedish authorities were investigating more than 10 similar incidents at the embassy but have “in the past two years not led to any results”.

Wikdahl said police had been investigating incidents at embassies but could not identify which countries’ missions were concerned.

He said Swedish police had recently started a new unit to investigate incidents at embassies, which he said had become “more common” and were “complex” to investigate.

According to Swedish media, drones dropped red paint over the Russian embassy in September 2025 and November 2024, and over its trade mission in July 2025.

In January 2025, a 45-year-old man was arrested after ramming the metal gate of the embassy with his car.

The Russian foreign ministry said the suspect was a Ukrainian citizen with permanent residency in Sweden, “well known to the embassy and the local police”.