Russia announces seizure of Western drones powered by artificial intelligence

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Monday that it had seized Western-made small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with first-person view (FPV) guidance systems and artificial intelligence technology, which had been dropped onto Russian territory by Ukrainian drones and balloons. The devices were intended to be used to launch attacks deep inside Russia.

The FSB stated that the drones landed in the Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border, and were then transported by Ukrainian operatives across Russian territory to the Chelyabinsk region in the Ural Mountains and the Amur region in the Russian Far East. The operatives moved them in trailers fitted with false floors and disguised as carrying household appliances.

The plan targeted the Shagol and Okrenka airbases in those regions, and the FSB noted that those responsible for the attempts had been arrested.

The Russian security service added that the drones were manufactured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Sweden. Each carried more than one kilogram of explosives and was equipped with AI-supported navigation systems designed to evade Russian jamming equipment.

Over the past few months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian oil refineries and defense-related facilities, striking targets thousands of kilometers from the Ukrainian-Russian border. These attacks have led to fuel shortages across Russia after major refineries were forced to halt operations.