Russia’s FSB says it intercepted shipment of booby-trapped FPV goggles meant for drone operators
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says its agents seized a shipment of FPV drone-control goggles that had been rigged with homemade explosives, recovering them from multiple regions across the country.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the seizure of a shipment of FPV drone-control goggles rigged with explosives, intercepted across various regions of the country. The FSB stated that these goggles were intended to be delivered to Russian soldiers fighting in the conflict against Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence services allegedly implanted the explosive devices, which were designed to activate upon activating the goggles.
The investigation revealed that Ukrainian operatives, posing as "pseudo-patriots," communicated with Russian "humanitarian organizations and charitable foundations" via Telegram, sending the goggles through Russian Post. They demanded videos of gratitude from the Russian soldiers. A serviceman in the Volgograd region alerted the authorities, having received two pairs of goggles from a volunteer and subsequently submitting them to the FSB's inspection.
The FSB discovered explosive devices concealed as the goggles' cooling fans. The Volgograd region's FSB branch initiated a criminal case for preparing a terrorist attack and illegally transporting and manufacturing explosives. Authorities are currently looking for those responsible for transmitting the goggles. In February 2025, Ukrainian media reported a similar operation involving Ukrainian intelligence sending a shipment of Skyzone Cobra FPV goggles to Russian soldiers via volunteers.
The anonymous Telegram channel "Spy's Dossier" claimed that explosions from these goggles had blinded eight drone operators. The video released by the FSB following the seizure of the new shipment also displayed Cobra goggles. Meduza emphasized its commitment to transparency regarding the use of AI in its reporting. The story was authored by a journalist and translated into English using an AI model adhering to strict editorial standards, with an additional review by a Meduza editor prior to publication.
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