Italian prosecutors want the closure of a case in which they were investigating alleged flights of Russian drones. What they discovered
Illustrative image. Source: Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com
Italian prosecutors investigating the alleged flights of Russian drones from the area of a European space research center have concluded that their suspicions are unfounded and have requested that the case be dropped, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Prosecutors in Milan determined that 21 alleged flights between March and May 2025 had actually been the interference generated by a private GSM telephone signal amplifier near the Joint Research Center (JRC) in Ispra, near Lake Maggiore.
Flights in the JRC area, which opened in 1960 as a nuclear research site, are prohibited.
In March, following alerts from the center, prosecutors opened an investigation into a possible case of military or political espionage for terrorist purposes, suspecting that a Russian-made drone was involved.
However, according to sources, the investigation revealed that the signals were caused by interference between the center's security system and the sporadic activity of a GSM amplifier in a nearby house.
A judge in Milan will now decide whether to accept the prosecutors' request and close the case, which is generally a formality.
NATO allies frequently accuse Russia of staging hybrid attacks against the West through hacking, sabotage and espionage. Moscow denies the allegations, saying the West is fueling anti-Russian sentiment.
The JRC website states that the Ispra headquarters is the European Commission's third largest research campus after those in Brussels and Luxembourg, dealing with topics ranging from nuclear safety to space to sustainable resources, migration and transport.
Photo source: Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com
