Drones with red paint near the Russian Embassy in Stockholm: Moscow accused Sweden of inaction

The Russian embassy in Stockholm stated that on the night of July 2 became the target of another drone incident. According to the diplomatic mission, two drones entered its territory: one dropped a container with red paintand the second fell near a building with an attached a dummy improvised explosive device.

The embassy statement said the incident occurred around 02:00 am. The first quadcopter, according to the Russian side, dropped a container of red paint onto the territory of the diplomatic mission. The second drone, to which an object similar to an imitation explosive device was attached, fell near the embassy building.

Photos released by the Russian diplomatic mission show a small drone covered in red paint and a plastic container or bag next to it. At the same time independent confirmation of the circumstances of the incident at the time of publication none.

Moscow called the incident an attempt at intimidation

Russian Embassy statedwhich views the incident not as an ordinary act of vandalism, but as attempt to intimidate diplomatic mission staff.

The Russian side also accused Sweden of insufficient protection of the embassy and referred to the obligations of the host state under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. According to Moscow’s position, such episodes in Stockholm have become systematic and have previously occurred both against the embassy itself and against Russian diplomatic facilities in Sweden.

The Russian diplomatic mission and the Russian Foreign Ministry disseminated a message about the new incident.

Swedish police have not yet publicly confirmed the details

At the time of publication Swedish police and the Swedish Foreign Ministry have not provided a public version of events and have not confirmed whether criminal charges have been filed. It is also unknown whether the Swedish services recorded the launch of the drones and whether they were able to identify their operators.

This is important because in previous similar cases in Stockholm, the police began investigating it as a possible act of vandalism and violation of drone regulations. However, as a rule, there were no arrests in such cases.

Similar cases have already happened

The Russian embassy in Sweden has previously repeatedly reported attacks using drones and paint. In November 2024, Swedish police confirmed that an unknown drone dropped paint on the territory of the Russian diplomatic mission in Stockholm. Then an investigation was launched into vandalism and possible violation of aviation legislation.

Later, similar cases were recorded near the Russian trade mission and other facilities associated with Russian diplomatic infrastructure. In June 2025, the Russian Embassy reported that a drone dropped a package of paint near a trade mission. They wrote about a similar episode then Meduza And The Moscow Times.

Why this story is important

The incident in Stockholm looks like a continuation of the series symbolic attacks to Russian diplomatic facilities. Red paint is usually used as a form of political protest, but the appearance of a second drone with a fake explosive device makes the episode more serious from a security perspective.

At the same time, there is no reason to assert that this was about preparing a real explosion or an attempt to cause physical harm. The Russian side itself reports that the second drone was carrying imitationnot a live explosive device.

The main thing at the moment: The fact that the embassy published the photo and statement was confirmed, but the motives of the organizers, the identities of the participants and the full picture of the incident remain unknown. Without comment from the Swedish police, the story should be viewed as the version of the Russian diplomatic mission, and not as a definitive picture of events.

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