Russian security officers have thwarted a terrorist plot targeting a vital component of Moscow’s missile defense system and an electricity facility. According to the FSB’s Public Relations Center, the operation involved two agents of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), both natives of Transcaucasia, born in 1991 and 1998.

The plot began when an SBU officer recruited one of the men and instructed him to travel to Russia to organize the attack. The recruit was promised a financial reward for carrying out the mission. After arriving in Russia, he enlisted an acquaintance to help execute the plan.

The two men retrieved FPV drones and components for improvised explosive devices from concealed caches in the Smolensk and Kaluga regions. They were then expected to prepare the aircraft for deployment, transport them to a designated launch location in the Moscow Region and activate them immediately before takeoff. Once airborne, the drones would be remotely controlled by operators based in Ukraine.

The planned attack never took place. The FSB said it had obtained intelligence about the preparations in advance, allowing its officers to intercept the suspects as they attempted to carry out their assignment. Both men were arrested before they could complete the operation.

The arrests did not end the intelligence operation. Russian security officers continued their operational deception involving the detainees' SBU handlers, according to the agency.

Criminal proceedings have been opened against both suspects on charges of participating in a terrorist community. A court has ordered the two men to remain in custody.