Russia foils drone plot against military facility
The Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) has foiled a planned drone attack on a military facility in Ryazan Region, killing a suspect in a gun battle, the agency reported on Friday.
Rosgvardiya said officers used technical surveillance tools to identify a man preparing to launch a terrorist attack using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The man resisted arrest and was subsequently killed in a shootout. Police said he was carrying a rubber-bullet pistol that had been altered to fire live ammunition.
Explosives experts from the National Guard’s riot police unit secured two drones at the scene. The aircraft were fitted with high-explosive anti-tank grenades designed to penetrate armored targets and were set up for remote-controlled use.
The incident follows a series of drone attacks in Ryazan Region, including a strike in January, when Ukrainian drones targeted the local oil refinery, one of Russia’s largest, and a thermal power plant, causing fires and damage.
Kiev has recently intensified its attacks despite ongoing efforts by Russia, the US and international mediators to negotiate peace in the conflict. Ukraine blew up railway bridges in Russia last week, derailing civilian and freight trains and killing at least seven and injuring over 120. Kiev also launched a coordinated drone strike on multiple Russian air bases, targeting long-range, nuclear-capable bombers stationed in Russia’s north and far east.
Moscow has said that most of the drones were intercepted and the aircraft targeted were damaged but not destroyed. The attacks were carried out the day before the second round of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Monday.
Russian officials have repeatedly condemned Ukraine’s continued acts of sabotage, claiming that they undermine ongoing efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The Russian military has said its forces carried out large-scale retaliatory strikes against Ukrainian defense industry sites on Friday, using drones and long-range precision-guided weapons.
US President Donald Trump told journalists on Friday that he did not approve of the escalation. He said Ukraine had given President Vladimir Putin a reason to “go in and bomb the hell out of them” in response.
