Pro-Palestinian group targets UK bases training Ukrainian pilots

A new hybrid threat in Europe could directly target the infrastructure used to train Ukrainian aviators. Are any countermeasures being taken?

A few days ago, on June 20, 2025, it was reported that members of the group Palestine Action had infiltrated the Royal Air Force base RAF Brize Norton and vandalized two "air tankers" Voyager. This raised questions about the security of British airbases, particularly how such a raid could be carried out so easily.

However, it turned out that the threat from this group, which calls itself the "pro-Palestinian activists" Palestine Action, is much broader. Now, "in the crosshairs" is the infrastructure where Ukrainian aviators are being trained to operate F-16 and Mirage 2000 aircraft.

As reported by the British portal UK Defense Journal, citing information from other UK media, members of the group planned, during an online meeting, to carry out similar raids on RAF Cranwell and RAF Barkston Heath. These airfields, according to the publication’s authors, are used to train Ukrainian pilots on the aforementioned Western fighter jets.

Such information was obtained by British journalists, who, posing as fake members, infiltrated the ranks of Palestine Action. It is noted that the threat of vandalism actions covers virtually all military airbases in the United Kingdom.

UK officials have already emphasized that the actions of this group of "pro-Palestinian activists" have crossed the line necessary to classify the organization as a terrorist group under the "Terrorism Act" of 2002.

The head of the UK Ministry of Defence, Luke Pollard, also stated that the aforementioned raid by Palestine Action on RAF Brize Norton was "epically stupid" and has become the subject of a counterintelligence investigation.

In addition, security measures at other British military sites have been increased to prevent similar attacks in the future.

This raises a logical question: if the group positions itself as "pro-Palestinian," why has it targeted facilities where, according to British media reports, Ukrainian aviators are being trained? 

The logical conclusion here is that we might be dealing with a "hybrid operation under a false flag," with possible involvement from Russian intelligence.