Key facts
- Russia's FSB claims to have foiled a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack.
- The targets were two military air bases: Shagol and Ukrainka.
- The FSB stated Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the plot.
- Drones and balloons were allegedly used to transport attack equipment into Russia.
- Perpetrators have been detained, according to the FSB.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Monday that it had thwarted a series of attempted large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks against two military air bases deep inside Russia. State news agency TASS cited the FSB as stating that Ukrainian secret services had attempted to strike the Shagol and Ukrainka air bases, located in Russia's Ural Mountains and far east, respectively. The FSB reported that the perpetrators of these attacks have been detained.
According to the FSB's statement, Ukraine had utilized balloons and drones to deliver containers filled with drones into Russia's Bryansk region, with the intention of transporting them to the two targeted air bases. The foiled operation was described by the FSB as resembling a 2025 attack on Russian military air bases, including Ukrainka, which reportedly destroyed around 10 Russian aircraft, according to the United States.
Further details from Meduza indicate that Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry was planning a terrorist attack on the Rostov-Tsentralny military airfield using FPV unmanned aerial vehicles. The FSB stated that a Russian citizen, who had already received an advance payment, voluntarily disclosed the plot, having been promised a cash reward by Ukrainian intelligence after the strike.
The plan reportedly involved 13 drones equipped with artificial intelligence systems, each carrying over 1 kilogram of explosives, with the objective of destroying the airfield's infrastructure, killing personnel, and disabling the aircraft fleet. This alleged plot echoes the "Operation Spiderweb" carried out by Ukraine's Security Service in June 2025, which involved drones striking military airfields in four Russian regions, with drones concealed in prefabricated houses transported by trucks. That operation resulted in the destruction of numerous aircraft, according to various reports.