Zelenskyy 'offered' plan to attack Moscow airports with thousands of drones - The Atlantic

According to two sources, the plan involved launching up to 1,000 drones per day at airports in Moscow and its surrounding areas. The plan envisioned that cheap autonomous drones, equipped with AI-based guidance systems, would find and strike targets without operator involvement controlling their movement.

"The idea is to close Moscow's airspace to civilian flights for an extended period," said one official familiar with the plan.

When the plan was reportedly presented to Zelenskyy in the winter, he expressed serious concerns. A source said the president feared that the drones would hit a civilian airliner in Moscow, especially if passengers, airport staff, or crew members were killed or injured as a result of the strikes.

However, in an effort to find a pressure point on Russia that could revive the peace process, Zelenskyy allowed preparations for the strikes to continue for several months through the spring and early summer.

By mid-spring, the secret operation had progressed quite far and received the code name M&M's. However, planning for the operation was suspended in July after Zelenskyy dismissed, allegedly, its chief organizer, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

The Atlantic, citing sources, claims that Fedorov had been working on the plan for most of this year and helped assemble a team of Ukrainian programmers to develop AI-based guidance systems. In addition, he secured funding from Ukraine's European partners for the mass production of autonomous drones.

One source expressed hope that Ukraine's new defense minister, Yevhen Khmara, would continue the plan's implementation.

The source said they would try, noting that it was technically possible. They added that the project could be revived with a new team, but in their opinion, it would take about three months.

At the same time, an official from the Presidential Office denied the existence of such a plan in a comment to the publication.

He said that it is complete nonsense.

Drone attacks on Moscow and the Moscow region

On the night of August 18, Moscow and the Moscow region came under a massive drone attack. Soon after, it became known that approximately 10,000 people in the Moscow region were left without power. This was the first report from Mosoblenergo since the beginning of the year.

On the night of August 19, Moscow also came under a drone attack. As a result, several airports, including those in Moscow, temporarily restricted their operations.