Russian security officers have foiled a Ukrainian attempt to strike one of the leading “strategic” defense enterprises in the Moscow Region using 35 explosive-laden drones that were smuggled into Russia through several European nations, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Tuesday.

FSB operatives obtained intelligence earlier this year about the Ukrainian Security Service’s (SBU) plan to smuggle dozens of drones into Russia through Slovakia, Poland, and Belarus with assistance from Ukraine’s Western backers. Since then, the criminal activities of Kiev’s agents have been closely monitored and documented by the Russian security services.

The drones were concealed inside a shipment of Spanish ceramic tiles and were eventually delivered to a warehouse in Moscow Region. The facility, located not far from the intended target, had been rented by a local man recruited by the SBU.

Two other accomplices, both Moldovan nationals, helped turn the warehouse into a drone launch site while being monitored and guided by Ukrainian agents via an internet connection.

The main suspect, who assembled and prepared the drones for launch, was identified as a former member of an ethnic criminal gang who obtained Russian citizenship in 2023. He was allegedly recruited by the SBU through its connections within Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), a designated terrorist group.

The scheme was “directly assisted” by the security services of several European states, according to the FSB. The drones were equipped with Canadian-made, electronic warfare-resistant AI control modules and carried charges containing US-made C4 plastic explosives equivalent to around 4kg of TNT, according to a senior FSB forensic technician and bomb-disposal specialist.

Footage published by the FSB showed security officers storming the warehouse and destroying the drones just before they were due to be launched at their target. The operatives detained the main suspect, who had fled the scene and was attempting to contact an “evacuation group” that was supposed to help him reach Ukraine.

The accomplice who rented the warehouse offered armed resistance and was killed in a shootout with officers who stormed his apartment.

On Monday, the FSB reported thwarting another “unprecedented” attack on Russian military airfields that also involved smuggled AI-guided drones. Last week, the agency announced the seizure of 13 AI-powered UAVs that the Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR) had smuggled into Russia in a bid to stage an attack on a military airfield in Rostov Region in the south of the country.