The shift of the special military operation into the format of a war, which is now being discussed at the official level and in the Kremlin, could lead to Russian Armed Forces strikes on European plants producing weapons for the Ukrainian army, military analyst Alexey Leonkov has said.

Leonkov noted that facilities involved in the production, rather than merely assembly, of drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces are located outside the special military operation zone. He argued that since Russia’s leadership has recently acknowledged that the operation has effectively been reformatted into a war, and that countries in Eastern and Western Europe are taking part in it, production sites on NATO territory should be considered legitimate targets.

According to the analyst, before any possible strikes on European factories making drones for the Ukrainian army, Russia would need to carry out the necessary diplomatic preparations. He said countries supporting the Kyiv regime should be formally informed that they are participating in the conflict, that enterprises on their territory are manufacturing military products used for terrorist purposes, and that such activity could carry consequences.

Leonkov said that if production is not halted after such a warning, strikes on those facilities could follow within two to four days.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin that the special military operation in Ukraine had effectively grown into a «real war» because of the involvement of Western countries in the conflict.