Ukraine considered launching unprecedented AI-guided autonomous drone swarms against airports in Moscow and Moscow Oblast to disrupt international flights and pressure Russia into peace negotiations, according to an investigation by The Atlantic.
Two people familiar with the matter told The Atlantic that in early 2026, Ukrainian officials presented President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a plan to expand the country’s bombing campaign to include a set of targets and a class of weapons that Ukraine had long avoided striking. The proposal envisaged swarms of autonomous drones equipped with artificial intelligence navigation systems that would independently locate and strike airport targets without being controlled by a human operator.
Project M-and-Ms
According to the report, preparations progressed significantly through the winter and spring of 2026. By mid-spring, the project had been given the codename M-and-Ms. Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov played a central role, assembling a team of developers, working on AI-based guidance systems, and seeking funding to produce large numbers of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles.
The plan’s primary objective was to disrupt the operations of international airlines flying to and from Moscow airports. By targeting the runways, control towers, and support infrastructure, Ukraine hoped to create enough economic and logistical pressure to force Russia to the negotiating table.
Zelenskyy Raised Ethical Concerns
Despite allowing preparations to continue for some time, Zelenskyy expressed serious concern about the potential threat to civilian aviation, including the risk of accidentally striking a passenger aircraft or killing civilians near the airports, according to two sources cited by The Atlantic.
Early this year, Ukrainian officials came to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a risky new plan to end the war with Russia. It would require expanding their bombing campaign to include a set of targets and a class of weapons they had long avoided.
Preparations for the operation were eventually halted. A representative from the Office of the President of Ukraine denied the information, calling The Atlantic claims false. There is currently no official confirmation that such a plan was developed or existed.
Uncharted Legal Territory
No country has used fully autonomous AI-guided drone swarms in combat. The legality of deploying such systems is the subject of ongoing debate under international humanitarian law, particularly regarding the requirement for human oversight in targeting decisions. Various countries, including the United States, have tested similar systems in recent years but none has deployed them operationally.
The report emerges as Moscow faces intensifying drone pressure. On the night of August 17-18, Ukrainian forces launched more than 600 drones toward the Russian capital, forcing airport closures. Russias Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down over 1,600 Ukrainian drones in a 24-hour period earlier that week, highlighting the scale of the aerial campaign.
Sources: The Atlantic; Ukrainska Pravda; ABC News; Russian Defense Ministry
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