“Everyone is absolutely livid”: Expert says Russian agent may have activated MESH relay within 5 km of attack on Security Service, enraging Ukraine and Europe

On the afternoon of September 4th, a Russian drone targeted the Ukraine Security Service building in Kyiv, striking its headquarters in a direct hit – a rare occurrence in the four-and-a-half-year conflict. The SBU headquarters, located on Volodymyrska Street near St. Sophia's Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, had never been targeted before. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the location of Ukraine's response to be "set by geography," and he had ordered a retaliatory action mirroring the attack.

Serhii Beskrestnov, President Zelenskyy's adviser on defense technologies, suggested that the strike's precision indicated it was not a stray hit, but rather controlled and guided online through a MESH radio relay with internet access. This relay, estimated to be about the size of half a school backpack, was operated by a Russian agent within five kilometers of the attack for a brief period.

No other jet-powered Gerans were in the air over Kyiv at the time of the strike, leading Beskrestnov to believe that the drone was controlled locally rather than being part of a relay chain reaching back to Russia.