Russia’s FSB says it foiled Ukrainian plan to attack airfield

The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Sunday that Russian security forces had thwarted an effort by Ukrainian intelligence to use drones rigged with explosives to attack a military base in central Russia.

An A-50 radar detection plane at the Severnyy airport in the Ivanovo district, around 700 km (435 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was the attack’s objective, according to a statement on the FSB website. It said that in coordination with the interior ministry, its operatives had stopped the attack.

The statement added that after flying in from Ukraine, the pilot of a small plane and several members of what the FSB called a “sabotage group” were apprehended in the Tula region.

The FSB’s account could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Moscow has frequently charged Kiev with employing drones to attack Russian energy, logistics, and military facilities since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Ukraine has denied involvement in assaults inside Russia, attributing them to “false flag” operations carried out by Moscow or Russian anti-government partisans.