Yuri Kobzar20:58, 20.08.26

There are great concerns about the plan due to the potential risks of civilian casualties.

In early 2026, the Ukrainian leadership was considering the possibility of conducting a large-scale operation using drones with artificial intelligence to block the operation of Moscow airports . The Atlantic writes about this with reference to informed interlocutors.

The operation, codenamed M&Ms, involved drone attacks on airports in and around Moscow, hoping to force international airlines to stop flying to Russia.

As the author of the article says, when Ukrainian officials presented the plan to Volodymyr Zelensky in the winter, the president expressed serious concerns. He was particularly concerned about the risk of hitting a civilian aircraft and killing passengers or crew members. At the same time, Zelensky, in an effort to create additional pressure on Russia, allowed the operation to continue, according to sources.

The publication emphasizes that this was not just a matter of ordinary drone attacks. The plan involved the use of autonomous vehicles capable of independently finding targets using artificial intelligence systems. The author explains that such technology allows the drone to compare images of the terrain with pre-loaded maps and photos of the target, and then independently make a decision about the strike.

According to one of the sources, the operation could have required up to 1,000 drones in one night to overcome Russian air defenses. It was the large number of small and relatively cheap devices that gave rise to the name M&Ms, a reference to the famous candy. The publication notes that the scale of the plan was significant, but not unprecedented for the current war.

The main goal of the operation was not only to physically damage the aviation infrastructure. “The idea is to close Moscow’s airspace to civilian flights for an extended period,” The Atlantic quotes one of the participants in the preparation of the plan.

The publication notes that the closure of Moscow airports could directly affect Russian officials, oligarchs and other wealthy supporters of Vladimir Putin.

“People from the elite could come to Putin and say: we have a problem here,” the source told the publication. It was assumed that such pressure, together with the economic and social consequences of the war, could push the Russian leadership to negotiate.

At the same time, the implementation of the plan was associated with serious legal and moral risks. The Atlantic notes that the use of autonomous systems that independently select and engage targets remains the subject of heated debate regarding compliance with the laws of war. Of particular concern is the possibility of false target recognition.

The M&Ms development, according to two sources, was halted in July after the dismissal of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who, according to the interlocutors, was one of the main architects of the project. He was involved in developing the Ukrainian military drone program, forming a team of programmers for the AI ​​system, and seeking European funding.

With the appointment of new Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara, the future of the operation remains uncertain. One of The Atlantic’s interlocutors suggested that the project could be revived, but that would require a new team and about three months of work. 

(C)UNIAN 2026