Russia says it caught Ukrainian agents preparing close range drone attack on Moscow's air defences

Russia's FSB security service has thwarted a planned Ukrainian drone attack from inside Russia on a key element of Moscow's air defence system and on ‌an electricity facility, the FSB said on Monday, saying it had arrested two men involved in the plot.

The two men, who the FSB said were from the South Caucasus region and had been acting under instructions from Ukraine's SBU security ⁠service, had retrieved First Person View drones and explosives from two Russian regions, delivered them to the Moscow region, and configured and activated the drones, the FSB said. The drones were to be remotely controlled from Ukraine, it said.

"It has been established that one of the suspects was recruited by an SBU officer and, on that officer’s instructions and in return for a promised monetary ‌reward, ⁠travelled to Russia to prepare and carry out a sabotage and terrorist attack. To this end, he enlisted the help of an acquaintance from his close circle," the FSB said.

"The suspects were detained by FSB officers ⁠while preparing to carry out a terrorist attack on an electricity infrastructure facility and on one of the key components of Moscow's missile defence ⁠system," it said.

There was no immediate comment from the SBU or from Ukraine, which has intensified its attempted drone attacks on ⁠the Russian capital in recent months, as Russia has stepped up its own attacks on Ukrainian power and other infrastructure targets.

Reuters