Russia’s FSB security service said Monday that it thwarted a series of planned attacks against Russian drone operators after its agents uncovered a shipment of drone goggles rigged with explosives that were meant to be distributed to military personnel.
“During an X-ray examination, explosives specialists established that Ukrainian special services had embedded improvised explosive devices into the first-person view goggles where cooling fans are normally placed,” the FSB said in a statement.
The devices were allegedly wired to detonate immediately upon being turned on, killing or injuring the operators.
The FSB said a shipment of the tampered goggles was first discovered in the southern Volgograd region, after which law enforcement authorities intercepted larger batches shipped to various locations through Russia Post.
It did not disclose the exact number of seized devices.
A nearly six-minute video released by the FSB and shared with state media outlets showed a bomb disposal operation alongside interviews with an unidentified soldier and two female volunteers, who help distribute supplies to Russian servicemen.
One volunteer said FSB officers stopped her while trying to collect a shipment of three goggle kits sent by someone identified only as Daria. A second volunteer described receiving a separate shipment of goggles from another online contact who used the handle “Oleg Feniks.”
The FSB launched a criminal investigation into the illegal manufacture, acquisition and transportation of explosives, as well as attempted terrorism.
Officials warned volunteers working with the Russian army to inspect all incoming donations, claiming that Ukrainian intelligence services had previously masked explosives inside everyday items like power banks, Bluetooth speakers, car parts, heated shoe insoles and gift statuettes.
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