Ukraine Planned 1,000-Drone Swarm to Paralyze Moscow Airports: Report
The plan aimed to overwhelm Russian air defenses and ground civilian flights, with sources saying up to 1,000 drones could be launched each night.
- On August 20, 2026, reports revealed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorized preparations for "M&Ms," a covert operation using up to 1,000 AI-guided drones nightly to disrupt Moscow-area civilian airports.
- Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov led development of the autonomous system, which used onboard cameras and preloaded maps to strike without pilot confirmation, bypassing electronic jamming to pressure Kremlin-linked elites into negotiations.
- Preparations ceased following Fedorov's dismissal in July, though sources claim reviving the project with a new team remains "technically possible" within about three months.
- Ukraine's presidential office denied the report as "total nonsense," asserting the military's only objective regarding airports is to force Russia to declare "Carpet," an emergency protocol clearing airspace.
- While the M&Ms plan never launched, reported Ukrainian drone attacks repeatedly disrupted Moscow airports; a May 5–7, 2026, incident delayed more than 450 flights, underscoring infrastructure vulnerability.
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Waves of drones driven by Ai against Moscow airports to block arrivals and departures of international aircraft. This was the focus of the M&M's project: hit Russian airports,...
A swarm of drones is dozens, maybe hundreds, guided by artificial intelligence and directed on Russian airports. Especially those of Moscow. It is the secret plan that Ukrainian military summits have worked in recent months to isolate the Russian capital and force Vladimir Putin to sit at the negotiating table. To reveal it was [...] The article Sciame di drones on Russian civilian airports: Kiev's secret plan to isolate Moscow and bring Putin t…
The Ukrainian president feared civilian victims after a plan had been presented to him to disturb air traffic over Moscow.
The plan revealed by The Atlantic would include a colossal swarm of bombers led by the Lah on enemy ports, but the Ukrainian government denies. The project would be paused after the expulsion of Fedorov, one of its major supporters, but could come back active
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Shin-young = Ukraine devised an operation to strike Moscow Airport to force Russia to the peace negotiation table, but civilian casualties...
The Atlantic: Zelensky authorized a plan to swarm Moscow’s airports with 1,000 drones — after warning it could harm civilian aircraft and passengers. His office calls the account ‘total nonsense.’
Ukraine’s military drew up plans to strike Moscow’s airports with a swarm of 1,000 small AI-guided drones, two sources told The Atlantic on condition of anonymity.
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