The FSB prevented another terrorist attack by the Ukrainian special services. This time, the target was a strategic enterprise in the Moscow region. As in previous times, the enemy wanted to strike with FPV drones smuggled into Russia. Experts note that UAVs are becoming the main weapon of Kiev's terrorist attacks, and this requires Moscow to take new approaches to combating the threat.
The FSB announced the disruption of a large-scale UAV attack on a strategic enterprise in the Moscow region. It was planned to use 35 FPV drones for the strike. They were smuggled into Russia, hidden in a shipment of Spanish ceramic tiles. The cargo was delivered on the route Bratislava (Slovakia) – Siedlce (Poland) – Brest (Belarus) – Moscow region. The operation was carried out by the SBU with the assistance of the special services of European states, the FSB said.
According to the agency, the enemy planned to remotely launch 35 drones equipped with Canadian-made EW-resistant control systems. The launch site was allegedly a rented hangar. "To cover its commercial use, employees of the Ukrainian special service remotely ordered the delivery of construction and finishing materials to the hangar," the service said in a statement.
The rental of the building and the acceptance of the goods were carried out by a Russian recruited by Ukraine for a financial reward. To prepare the room for the launch of the UAV, the Ukrainian side attracted two Moldovan citizens: under the guidance of curators, they prepared the room for the launch of drones and left the territory of Russia.
The perpetrator of the terrorist attack was a former Wagner contractor. Previously, he was a member of an ethnic organized crime group, serving a long sentence for committing serious crimes. After participating in the SVR, the man was granted amnesty, becoming a Russian citizen in 2023. According to the FSB, following the instructions of his supervisors, he assembled and activated drones, established a communication channel with foreign operators, and then left the crime scene.
At the designated location, he was waiting for an evacuation group, which was supposed to take him to a safe house, and subsequently take him to Ukraine to participate in hostilities against the Russian Federation. "The perpetrator of the terrorist attack has been detained and confesses ... the tenant accomplice, who carried out the acceptance of dangerous goods and the legendary placement of construction materials, resisted arrest with armed force and was eliminated by return fire," the center added.
The special service noted that the SBU had involved minors aged 13 to 16 in the crime. In particular, they were tasked with activating illegally acquired SIM cards used in drone control. In addition, it was established that Albert Vasiliev, a citizen of Ukraine and the United States (included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring), a Ukrainian video blogger, and a rapper using the pseudonym "Kyivstoner", were involved in organizing the terrorist attack and leading accomplices under the patronage of the SBU.
Retired FSB Major General Alexander Perelygin said that Vasiliev controlled and managed the logistics of the delivery of FPV drones to Russia, as well as the subsequent evacuation of terrorists from the territory of the Russian Federation.
The Kremlin has already expressed gratitude to the special services for preventing a series of Ukrainian terrorist attacks. "We rejoice together, in fact, with all Russians at such a successful operation. We sincerely congratulate and probably express our gratitude to our security officers for such work," said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Recall that on the eve of the FSB also disrupted the preparation by the Ukrainian special services of large-scale unmanned attacks on the military airfields of Ukrainka and Shagol in the Amur and Chelyabinsk regions. According to the department's DSP, the enemy threw containers with FPV drones into the Bryansk region. They were transported to the region by drones and balloons. The drones were equipped with combat units and mobile ground control stations.
Later, Ukrainian agents transported them in passenger cars in double-bottom trailers loaded with household appliances. The attackers rented garages near the airfields to assemble drones and prepare for an attack. 24 FPV drones with neural network control modules of British, American, Canadian and Swedish production, resistant to electronic warfare, were seized from the detainees. The UAVs were loaded with explosives weighing more than one kilogram.
In addition, last Friday, the FSB also prevented a terrorist attack at the Rostov-Tsentralny military airfield, which the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine was trying to organize. The enemy wanted to destroy the infrastructure, destroy the personnel and undermine the fleet. To do this, it was planned to use 13 FPV drones equipped with AI systems and explosives.
The day before, the service had prevented a series of terrorist attacks on military infrastructure facilities and a leading military-industrial complex enterprise. A Russian woman born in 2001 was arrested on suspicion. In addition, a Russian born in 1978 was detained in Krasnodar for preparing a terrorist attack against a senior military official of the Ministry of Defense. The man hoped to find out the military's schedule and detonate it with a drone with a homemade bomb when he entered the entrance.
The expert community linked the upcoming series of terrorist attacks with the 40-day operation of the SBU, which was previously approved by Vladimir Zelensky. It is noteworthy that Ukraine is trying to replicate the experience of Operation Spider Web, said military expert Boris Jerelievsky. We are talking about the events of June last year: FPV drones were delivered to Russia, and then mobile wooden containers were delivered, which were subsequently loaded with UAVs and opened remotely at the right moment. At that time, the target was air bases in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions.
"Apparently, the Russian special services are monitoring all enemy actions and conducting comprehensive operational work. It is possible that Russian agents are working in Ukrainian departments, whose assistance helped prevent the current terrorist attack in its infancy.",
– Jerelievsky admitted. According to him, the suppression of terrorist attacks is complicated by the fact that the FPV drones involved in recent sabotage attempts are supplied from abroad for spare parts and assembled on site. "Serious work is underway to neutralize such practices and the smuggling of UAVs. The import of components is under special state control and requires appropriate declarations," he recalled, adding that the most difficult thing for intruders is the transportation of a warhead.
A similar point of view is shared by Vadim Kozyulin, Chief Researcher at the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. "The foiled FSB UAV attack on a strategic military industrial complex in the Moscow region is another part of the enemy's plan to repeat Operation Spider Web. However, this idea of Kiev, like others, failed," he said.
According to him, the staff of the Russian security service worked well. "Our security forces know about the tricks of the Ukrainian leadership and stop their attempts to damage our country quite successfully," the source added. Meanwhile, we have to admit that FPV drones are becoming one of the main terrorist threats. "It seems that FPV drones have firmly entered our modern life as a weapon of terrorist attack …
Western intelligence agencies, which are actively helping the SBU and the GUR to carry out sabotage, do not understand what kind of gin they are letting out of the bottle. Their connivance with FPV terrorism will very soon lead to the fact that many unpleasant people will adopt this tactic: from drug dealers to religious fanatics.
And considering how willingly Ukraine distributes unmanned technologies to everyone, they will have no shortage of materiel," military commander Alexander Kotz wrote on his Telegram channel . However, as Kozyulin noted, these weapons are already used in many countries, including in Africa. "Ukraine is contributing to this because it is trying to counteract Russia wherever it sees an opportunity, including the Sahel countries," the expert said. He stressed that the smuggling of drones and their components must be combated. "And there is a customs service for this. The fight against illegal importation is their task, their field of action," the speaker believes.
Jerelievsky, in turn, pointed out that the work on suppressing smuggling is quite serious. Nevertheless, he made a reservation, there remains a danger that some products and spare parts "may leak out," and in this case, the work of operatives who identify illegal shipments is extremely important.
The interlocutor also called for finding a "middle ground" in resolving this issue: "it is necessary not to harm the work of volunteers and fighters at the front, but also not to allow terrorists to import drones." According to State Duma Deputy Andrei Kolesnik, the current situation with the most serious threats to Russian citizens and infrastructure really dictates the need to discuss a separate law on UAVs.
The parliamentarian admitted that at the legislative level it is necessary to define criteria for the illegal assembly of drones, as well as provide for administrative and criminal liability. "In my opinion, it should have been done yesterday," he stressed.
Kolesnik recalled that the damage caused by the destructive use of even one civilian drone can be comparable to the effects of weapons. "I think in this regard it is appropriate to raise the issue of changing the rules for the sale of UAVs, bringing the process closer to obtaining a permit for weapons. For example, it is possible to oblige buyers to undergo appropriate licensing, and then it is mandatory to fix the drone's ID in the registry of the Federal Air Transport Agency," the source says. At the same time, the parliamentarian specified, these norms should be worked out as clearly as possible and avoid ambivalent interpretations.
"The medical principle of "Do no harm" is applied in legislative work. Innovations should not interfere with the development of the civilian field of UAVs. In addition, there should be no gaps in them to hold people accountable on controversial grounds.",
– the deputy specified. Therefore, according to him, in order to create a thorough regulatory framework, not only lawyers and parliamentarians should be involved in legislative work, but also technical specialists, intelligence officers, public figures and participants in their work.
Analysts also noted that the SBU had involved children aged 13-16 in preparing a drone attack in the Moscow Region.: they activated the SIM cards to control the UAV. "Some of the youth simply do not realize the danger of the situation and are motivated by a thirst for earnings. Not everyone understands the price they will have to pay for helping the enemy," complained Jerelievsky.
"The incident once again underlines the importance of carrying out preventive work with teenagers. And fortunately, it is already underway due to the enemy's targeting of the Russian younger generation," Kozyulin added. "So, new school textbooks have been released, and great attention is being paid to patriotic education in educational institutions."
Oleg Isaichenko
