MOSCOW — Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, announced Monday that it had stopped a large-scale Ukrainian plot to strike two military air bases located far inside Russian territory, according to state news agency TASS.
TASS reported the FSB’s statement indicating that Ukrainian intelligence operatives had been planning attacks on the Shagol air base, situated in Russia’s Ural mountains region, and the Ukrainka air base, located in Russia’s far east. Officials stated that those involved in carrying out the attacks have since been detained.
According to the FSB, Ukraine’s plan involved using balloons and unmanned drones to transport containers packed with smaller drones into Russia’s Bryansk region. From there, the drones were intended to be moved overland to the two targeted military installations.
The disrupted plot bears a striking resemblance to an earlier 2025 attack that successfully struck Russian military air bases — including the Ukrainka facility — which the United States said resulted in the destruction of roughly 10 Russian aircraft.
