Bomb Threats Against European Aircraft: Who Is Behind the ‘Male State’?

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Bomb Threats Against European Aircraft: Who Is Behind the ‘Male State’.

On Thursday, 5 November 2026, European air travel was shaken by a new wave of bomb threats and false bomb alerts. According to Paris Match, nearly 30 commercial flights were affected. In France, fighter jets were placed on standby, and numerous flights were disrupted in their operations, although reports specify only some of the flight paths and airlines involved.

The security response was particularly evident in the case of an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome. The aircraft was diverted to France following a bomb alert and escorted to the Évreux military base. French fighter jets escorted the Airbus A320 on its way there. Reuters images also show passengers disembarking after landing.

Several threatening emails were addressed to the airports in Rome and Sofia. Their authors identified themselves as the “Fighters of the Male State.” One of the messages reviewed by the AFP agency read: “Your feminist regime will feel it forever. The explosion will take place in 60 minutes. Today your sky will turn red.”

The Threats Use a Known Far-Right Signature

The signature

The phrase “Fighters of the Male State” refers to “Male State.” This is not a name freely invented for the wave of threats, but a known designation from Russia’s far right. The movement was founded in 2016 by blogger Vladislav Pozdniakov and subsequently developed on social networks.

Paris Match describes the group as antifeminist and ultranationalist. It developed through online platforms into an ideology directed against women and minorities. Lou Osborn, founder of the NGO Inpact, which specializes in monitoring Russian covert activity, says the “Male State” uses Nazi symbols and counts several thousand members.

The ban came in 2021

In October 2021, the Russian judiciary designated the organization as extremist and prohibited its activities on Russian territory. The ban, however, did not prevent the movement from also supporting the war against Ukraine through propaganda. Its activity was therefore not confined to closed circles within Russia after the court ban.

At the same time, this provides the strongest argument for a connection to the threats: The emails use the name and known ideology of a far-right network whose activities, according to Paris Match, continued despite the ban. The political and ideological framework therefore fits the threats.

Nevertheless, this is not reliable evidence of authorship. Neither the available reports nor AFP’s reporting confirms that the original network wrote the emails. The shared signature shows a connection between the designation; it does not prove who was involved in sending them.

Several Emails Were Sent to Rome and Sofia

Targets of the threats

The messages were not sent to a single airline, but to the airports in Rome and Sofia. Several emails were signed with the name “Fighters of the Male State.” Together with the roughly 30 affected commercial flights and the military operation in France, this shows the immediate consequences of the wave of threats.

The response to the flight to Évreux

The sequence of events becomes particularly clear in the case of the Aer Lingus flight between Dublin and Rome. Due to the bomb alert, the aircraft was diverted to France. Two French fighter jets escorted the Airbus A320 to the Évreux military base, where the passengers disembarked. Paris Match includes footage from Reuters and AFP.

The reports do not provide a specific breakdown of the 30 flights by airport or airline for this wave of threats. Nor do they describe the security measures at Rome and Sofia airports in detail. What is reliably documented, however, are the threatening emails that were sent, the named recipients, the described sequence of events involving the diverted flight and the deployment of two fighter jets.

Pozdniakov Calls the Threats an Identity-Usurpation Operation

The denial on Telegram

p>Founder Vladislav Pozdniakov has denied any connection with the threats against European aircraft. According to Reuters, he wrote on Telegram that his organization no longer exists and was not involved in the incidents. He accused those currently using his name of acting out of their own interests and usurping the identity of the movement.

In doing so, Pozdniakov is claiming not merely that he was well organized. He denies the work of the current actors and attributes a usurpation of the former organization to them. His statement, however, cannot clarify whether the threats came from the old network itself, former members or other people deliberately using the name for their messages.

AFP images show Vladimir Pozdniakov, who is active in a Telegram channel as a co-founder of “Male State.” The reports contain no reliable information about a possible connection between the organization and the threats.

A Connection to the Kremlin Is Plausible, but Unproven

Ideological proximity

Paris Match describes the “Male State” as ultranationalist and antifeminist. Ideologically, this orientation places it close to Kremlin Russia. In addition, according to reports, the organization supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through propaganda after the 2021 ban.

Lou Osborn, however, emphasized to AFP that the specific degree of its links with the Russian authorities is unknown. She identifies no confirmed direct control or cooperation. Ideological proximity to a state policy and a possible organizational connection are therefore two separate questions.

What the reports leave open

Three key questions remain open: Who wrote and sent the emails, who received or forwarded them, and whether the banned network, former members or another organization is behind them. The question of whether Pozdniakov genuinely considers the current use of the name an usurpation or is using the claim to protect his own organization also cannot be determined from the available information.

For interpretation, the distinction between a lead and evidence remains decisive. The threats bear the name of a Russian far-right extremist organization banned since 2021. Its ideology and the continued use of its name make a connection plausible. However, Pozdniakov’s denial, the lack of confirmed attribution and the unknown links to the Russian authorities preclude prematurely identifying a perpetrator.