It was a Ukrainian spyplot inspired by the explosion of wireless devices and escapes with Hezbollah extremists. Hide a small bomb in the goggles that Russian soldiers use to control the drone. Under the guise of humanitarian assistance, these goggles will be donated to the Russian military. Next, wait for the explosion.
Russian news agency Tass reported alleged obstruction of goggles earlier this month, confirming that Ukrainian officials on Thursday had developed the scheme by a Ukrainian military intelligence agency known as HuR. Ukrainian news outlet Susperne reported the explosion early on Thursday.
The Ukrainian plot did not have the same official consequences as the Israelis. Israelis have killed dozens of people and injured thousands across Lebanon, including civilians. Many goggle explosions were reported this month, but the plot seemed to wary of mainly Russian soldiers about using goggles, at least according to social media posts.
The Russian military often does not disclose the figures of the victims, but no one has been reported injured or killed. A senior Ukrainian official who discussed the issue of intelligence on condition of anonymity told the New York Times that there were casualties but said they would not reveal the number as the operation is ongoing.
The goggles trapped in a booby were the latest salvo in the long-term spy vs spy battle between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have been accused of using operatives to kill military leaders and activists.
Ukrainian officials have argued that Russia maintains a wide network of sleepers and have denounced the nurses, a church deacon who is a senior official at Ukrainian intelligence reporting agency. Russia accused Ukraine of orchestrating the assassination of famous figures, including generals killed by Moscow bombs and ultranationalist commentators.
A senior Ukrainian official said the Ukrainians came up with the idea of ​​goggles after it appeared that Israel had launched its own Trojan horse business in September. The next day, the Tranquiles, a member of Hezbollah, exploded, killing dozens more.
The Ukrainians knew that the Russians did not use pagers or transceivers. Instead, they used many first-person perspective drones, or FPV drones, and pilots needed special goggles to fly them.
On February 7, a Russian named Igor Potapov works for a company that develops and supplies electronic warfare equipment and complained about changes to the Skyzone Cobra X V4 drone glasses manufactured in China. . He claimed that a man named Rome had donated to them. In an interview, Potapov said he had heard about the goggles the day before he posted to Telegram and confirmed rumors that he was a volunteer who helped the Russian army. Skyzone Cobra Goggles were popular with Russian operators because they were inexpensive.
It's not clear how the goggles exploded, but Potapov said it exploded when it was turned on.
“Information has come up about humanitarian sabotage,” he wrote, posting a photo of the goggles' mailing label and a photo of the device. “I received my FPV drone glasses and it explodes when I turn them on.”
Potapov also said in the interview that no one was injured.
A video showing the device being dismantled had previously appeared on the Russian Pro-War Telegram Channel called “Engineer from the Front.” Channel operators claimed that the goggles were distributed “without knowledge” through volunteers, calling the attacks of attempts “Massive.” They said the Russian troops complained about “multiple cases” of exploding goggles.
The channel reported that each device contains up to 15 grams of plastic explosives and detonators. The explosives were packed in boxes made up of 3D printers installed instead of fans. The author's engineer on the front said the goggle box “showed subtle signs that it was open.”
Oleksandra Mykolyshyn Contributed with a report from Kyiv Alina Robsina From London.
