Zelenskyy has yet to authorize more aggressive phase of Ukraine's M&M's drone operation - The Atlantic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet authorized a more aggressive phase of Operation M&M's, a campaign aimed at disrupting Russian airports using long-range drones, The Atlantic reported on October 15, citing people involved in planning the operation.
So far, Ukrainian drones have primarily been used to force temporary closures of Russian airspace and airports rather than directly strike airport facilities.
The more ambitious phase would involve AI-guided drones capable of navigating around Russian air defenses and attacking airport infrastructure without relying on U.S. intelligence.
According to the report, the drones could soon enter mass production, but Zelenskyy has not approved their deployment against Russian airports.
The Atlantic previously reported that the operation was designed to use swarms of inexpensive autonomous drones to disrupt flights to Moscow, potentially forcing international airlines to reconsider service to the Russian capital.
The original concept envisioned launching as many as 1,000 drones per night.
The operation has already caused significant disruption to Russian air travel.
According to figures cited by Kyiv Post in its account of The Atlantic's reporting, Russian airports canceled 345 flights and delayed nearly 4,000 between October 3 and 9. Hundreds more flights were disrupted in subsequent days.
On October 9, Ukrainian drone activity forced Moscow's airports to close as Russian President Vladimir Putin was returning from Turkmenistan. A Ukrainian military officer told The Atlantic that the timing was coincidental and Putin's aircraft was not a target.
During a separate drone raid over the weekend, debris from an intercepted Ukrainian drone reportedly caused a fire at an administrative building at Sochi airport.
The Atlantic reported in August that Zelenskyy had expressed concerns about the potential risks of the proposed operation to civilian aircraft, passengers and airport workers, although he allowed preparations to continue.
The potential escalation comes as Washington pressures Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized those attacks but has not publicly objected to Ukrainian operations targeting Russian airports, according to The Atlantic.
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