Operation M&M’s: Moscow Turned Bright Red
- 4.09.2026, 11:37
An infographic has been released with details of the large-scale attack on Ukraine.
On September 3, airports in Moscow were closed due to a massive wave of Ukrainian drones, which was not a routine attack, but the start of Operation M&M’s, according to journalist Simon Shuster of The Atlantik, as reported by "Focus" reports.
News of the operation using AI-powered drones broke in August, though it had been in the works since the winter of 2026. What is known about Ukraine’s plans and the blocking of Russian airports?
Information about the start of Operation M&M’s appeared in a post by Shuster on September 2, 2026, shortly before the drones took off and blocked Moscow’s airports on September 3. The journalist wrote that he had received information from a source within the Ukrainian government who had previously “leaked” details about preparations for a series of special strikes against Russia using autonomous drones equipped with AI.
Shuster reposted a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dated September 1, which contained a warning to airlines. The president explained that they should not fly over Russian territory, as there is a danger posed by Ukrainian drones carrying out special missions.
“President Zelenskyy officially announced the launch of an operation called M&Ms, which we reported on last month. One of the sources who first told me about this plan confirmed this morning that this is indeed the operation,” the journalist wrote.
The Ukrainian authorities have not officially stated that the new drone attacks on Russia are part of an operation called “M&Ms.” Meanwhile, OSINT analysts from the Dron Bomber Telegram channel published an infographic detailing Ukraine’s attack on Russian targets. The infographic shows the areas where air defense systems were active and where UAVs were spotted. Overlaid on the drone locations are airports that were closed due to the airstrike: according to Flightradar24 data, these were Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Sheremetyevo.
Operation M&M’s — What Is Known
On August 21, The Atlantic published an article about Operation M&M’s, which Ukraine had been planning. Media sources reported that in the winter of 2025–2026, the idea arose to create AI-powered drones that would fly autonomously over Russian territory and select targets on their own. The plan involved a thousand UAVs that were to disrupt air traffic and thereby inflict damage on the aggressor country. With some interruptions, work on the operation continued starting in the spring of 2026. Two sources familiar with the preparations for Operation M&M’s provided the media with all the details: they were to fly in batches of 1,000 drones; their on-board computers would have maps of the terrain and would independently select targets; the devices would not be jammed by electronic warfare systems; and strikes would be carried out without human confirmation. Former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov was involved in the operation, but planning was suspended after his dismissal in July, according to the article. The media also quoted a response from the presidential administration, which called the report “nonsense.”
It should be noted that the website Charter97.org reported on a drone attack against Russia on September 3, which was mentioned in the context of the start of Operation M&M’s. Russian social media groups wrote about the massive raid, posting photos of plumes of smoke in three settlements around the Russian capital. Subsequently, the governor of the Moscow Region named more than 10 locations where Ukrainian drones were spotted: these locations are situated 3–10 km from Moscow’s airports. At the same time, Rosaviatsia did confirm that a “Carpet” alert had been declared at three Moscow airports, leading to their closure.