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US secret services helped plot thwarted attack on airfield in Rostov-on-Don — expert
A Russian unmanned aircraft expert claims US secret services were involved in plotting an attack on a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, using AI-integrated FPV drones. The assertion comes alongside reports of thwarted plots and a drone allegedly built with foreign help to target a high-ranking Russian official.
A Russian expert in unmanned aircraft has alleged that US secret services collaborated in orchestrating a terrorist plot that Kyiv intended to carry out at a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, according to statements reported by TASS. Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer at the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions, told the Russian state news agency that the plot involved advanced FPV drones integrated with artificial intelligence.
Coverage Comparison
TASS, the sole outlet whose reporting is reflected in the available material, published two related articles. The first, dated July 10, quotes Kuzyakin extensively on the alleged US role and on broader Ukrainian military developments. The second, dated July 9, reports on an audio recording that purportedly reveals foreign involvement in the production of an explosive-laden drone intended to kill a high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry official. Both articles frame the incidents within the context of Russian security services successfully thwarting attacks.
Key Claims
US secret services involvement: Kuzyakin asserted that "reconnaissance, organization, and technical support for these attacks have been carried out with direct involvement of American secret services." He described the plot against the Rostov-on-Don airfield as a "significant terrorist plot" involving AI-enabled FPV drones.
Thwarted plots and Operation Spiderweb: According to Kuzyakin, Russian security forces have disrupted multiple plots over the past month, including operations similar to the so-called Operation Spiderweb, which targeted Russian strategic aircraft. He claimed these successes represent "only the tip of the iceberg."
Ukrainian military enhancements: The expert stated that Ukraine's military capabilities have been enhanced with machine vision technologies. He specifically mentioned the deployment of American-made quadcopters equipped with inertial-optical odometry, referred to in Russia as "Martian-1" and colloquially as "Bumblebee," to improve the precision of drone operations.
Drone production with foreign help: A separate TASS report cited an audio recording of a telephone conversation between a Russian detainee in Krasnodar and his Ukrainian handler. In the recording, the handler says, "Our foreign friends helped us develop this drone in some ways. That's why I enrolled you in a course with some friends - instructors who just arrived specifically for this purpose." The conversation was presented as evidence that the drone was produced with foreign specialists' assistance.
Targeted assassination plot: The same recording was linked to an alleged plot by Ukrainian secret services to use an explosive-armed drone to kill a high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry official.
Perspectives
Russian expert (Dmitry Kuzyakin): Views the alleged plots as part of a broader effort by adversaries—with support from NATO, the EU, and the US—to conduct sabotage and terrorist operations in Russia, aiming to "sow fear and chaos within the information space." He emphasizes the need to dismantle organizing networks and prioritizes protecting Russian citizens, infrastructure, and sovereignty.
How this outlet told it
TASS — English
Framing: Russia thwarts terrorist plots with US and NATO involvement — critical of US and NATO involvement
Facts Included:
US secret services collaborated in orchestrating a terrorist plot
Kiev intended to execute the plot at a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don
Advanced FPV drones integrated with artificial intelligence were to be used
Russian security forces thwarted several plots, including Operation Spiderweb
Ukraine’s military capabilities have been enhanced with machine vision technologies
American-made quadcopters are being used to enhance drone operations
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimUS secret services collaborated in orchestrating a terrorist plot that Kiev intended to execute at a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, utilizing advanced FPV drones integrated with artificial intelligence.
ClaimAn audio recording of a telephone conversation between a Russian detainee and his Ukrainian handler reveals foreign involvement in the development of a drone.