No this is very implausible for Russia to attack the UK grid with drones. But it DOES make sense to restrict drone flights over electricity substations and the like. And on your other points, it only takes one country to negotiate with Putin in place of the USA, possibly the UK, France and Germany, with other possibilities. Russia is currently losing territory in Ukraine and has major issues getting fuel to its soldiers now all along the front lines, and Zelensky says this is a great opportunity to negotiate during the combat season in summer when Russia will be losing more and more territory as it continues.
Sky News runs many stories like this. Sadly it is often very unreliable on the Ukraine war and on Russia based on failing many of our own fact checks. As does this story.
1. There is no risk of Russia using drones or missiles to attack the UK - it’s the other way around, it can’t protect Moscow from Ukrainian drones flying a little faster than a fast car
Russia is extraordinarily weak and can’t even protect its own Red Square from Ukrainian drones. The Ukrainians use a mix including faster cruise missiles. But even though Moscow is packed with air defences, Russia can’t shoot down drones that fly a little faster than a fast car and circle skyscrapers in Moscow.
And this one doing turns back and forth seemingly aimlessly. It may be a decoy or observation or relay drone
Russia is now no longer able to supply enough fuel to the front line in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts and in Crimea because the Ukrainian drones keep destroying its fuel tankers from the air. Same also for artillery and other military supplies.
I go into some of that here
https://ddebunked.org/d/4275-answer-ukraine-is-winning-on-the-front-line-and-the-one-advancing-and-russia-can-no-longer-supply-its-front-line-with-enough-fuel-expect-major-issues-for-russias-occupation-of-ukraine-a-few-months-from-now-zelenskyy-is-the-irresponsible-one-who-will-drag-
It’s continued to get far worse for Russia since then, long queues for gasoline in Crimea for instance.
Ukraine now is able to hit oil tankers supplying the soldiers even before they cross the border from Russia into Ukraine and it’s reducing the fuel supply to the entire front line even in Luhansk oblast now.
Based on the ISW reports, Russia is still managing very slow advances in very small parts of the front line but over most of it Ukraine is now advancing and gains far more territory than Russia each month.
The Russian army is also shrinking because of Putin’s demands they keep advancing against impossible odds with huge casualties, and the soldiers are less able to coordinate on the front line because Putin has blocked almost all the ways they can communicate with each other and they have less access to drones because this also stopped the fund raisers they used to get extra drones beyond the inadequate supplies from the Russian army.
The idea that this failing and disorganized army that is LOSING against the far weaker Ukrainian army would attack UK’s electricity grid with drones makes no sense whatsoever.
2. There is an initiative to make sure UK’s grid is hardened against drones - but an implausible scenario
There is a defence initiative to make sure that UK’s electricity grid is better hardened against drones. It’s based on Ukraine but it’s a very implausible scenario.
It doesn’t make sense to go to the expense of covering electricity transmission hubs with concrete like in Ukraine. It does make sense to have restrictions on drones flying over them.
Drones flying over wind turbines in international waters are very different from drones flying over the UK’s own territory. And if anyone did attempt that as they did for Denmark it would likely lead to a collaboration between the police, coastguard and military to stop it, to detect the drones when they take off from the ships - and then to seize the vessels for inspection.
None of this is happening. But it is something they can do if they see activity as serious enough.
There was never any risk from the Russian bright flashing drones.
BLOG: Slow decoys & low yield drones in Poland
— bright flashing drones buzzing Danish airports
— fighter jet incursions
— NONE are for attack or preparation
— wouldn’t do ANY if planning an attack
You can read it here:
https://shortdebunks.substack.com/p/military-drones-in-poland-harmless
3. Ukraine only needs one partner to negotiate with Putin and there are several European countries interested
Zelensky is working with some European partners to try to restart dialogue with Russia now that the US has temporarily dropped out.
Amongst possible negotiators he suggests
- United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
- Nordic partners
- Türkiye
Never was likely that the EU or NATO conduct the negotiations.
But individual countries can just as the US did it by themselves until recently when Marco Rubio said they are withdrawing for now and if others want to give it a go they are welcome
QUOTE STARTS
Zelensky: Beginning in December 2025, Russia started to lose the initiative on the battlefield. In January 2026, I told our American partners: “I think there is a window for negotiations, because each month Russia will be losing more and more troops.” Now they can’t occupy more territory in a month than we liberate.
Therefore, I think that we need to find a diplomatic way – to sit down and talk – before next winter. But this depends on internal pressure on Putin from his society as well as American and European sanctions pressure on Russia.
Who could represent Europe in the negotiations? There is an E3 format – the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. I don’t know if this is the best format, but I think these countries could be negotiators from Europe. We also have reliable Nordic partners. Türkiye always wanted to be a mediator, and we had some successes in bringing back our POWs with their help.
Who will represent Europe after all? It’s up to Ukraine and Europe to decide. But no less important is that Russia must be ready for dialogue and European presence.
Macron is especially keen on the negotiations and has tried to start dialogue with Putin but with no success so far.
4. No not at all plausible that US withdraws from NATO just a symbolic protest - and NATO is plenty strong enough to stop Russia without the US
The US can’t pull out of NATO instantly takes a year of notice and the Senate would stop the process and it would go to the Supreme Court - not at all plausible.
You may be thinking of the symbolic protest to remove a small number of soldiers from Germany because it didn’t join the US in the Iran war. There is no commitment under NATO to join other members in attacks on third parties - only to defend. NATO countries are sometimes on the opposite sides in foreign wars as with Italy and France for Libya’s civil war.
https://ddebunked.org/d/4098-answer-symbolic-not-really-going-to-pull-out-of-nato-and-nato-can-already-defend-against-russia-without-us-involvement-nato
