According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), a planned operation by Ukrainian agents to damage a key component of Moscow’s air defense system has been thwarted.

In a Monday statement, the FSB accused the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of organizing the plot and recruiting an individual from Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region to execute it. The SBU allegedly supplied the suspect with small drones and improvised explosive devices.

The individual recruited a second person, and together they retrieved equipment in Russia’s Smolensk and Kaluga regions before traveling to Moscow region. Authorities reported that the pair was tasked with assembling the drones, attaching explosives, and positioning them near two targets: an air defense site and an energy facility.

Russian investigators reportedly became aware of the operation well in advance and intervened at their chosen moment. A video released by the FSB shows footage allegedly recorded by a third party during equipment retrieval from a cache and drone assembly in the field, with live instructions relayed over phone calls. The agency did not identify this individual but stated that reporting an impending crime could exempt the informant from criminal liability.

The two suspects, described as foreign nationals from the Caucasus region, face up to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges.

Moscow remains one of Russia’s most heavily defended areas. During a record-breaking Ukrainian drone attack on the capital from September 19–20, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that more than 1,600 drones were intercepted across defensive lines, with over 450 approaching the city.

Kiev has previously used infiltrators in attempts to deploy short-range quadcopters carrying explosives for sabotage or targeted assassinations.