Russia Rebuilds Captured Ukrainian Drones for False-Flag Attacks on Europe

Russian forces are collecting Ukrainian drones that survive crashes or electronic warfare interference, repairing them, and preparing the aircraft for possible future provocations, according to Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on defense technology development.

Beskrestnov made the statement on August 2 after footage from a Ukrainian interceptor drone showed an aircraft resembling Ukraine’s FP-1 and FP-2 long-range drones operating under Russian control.

“I can tell you with certainty that the enemy is collecting our surviving drones, repairing them, and preparing them for future provocations,” Beskrestnov said.

“Does anyone really believe that the mysterious UAVs over Europe were—and will be—Supercams and Orlans with stars on their wings? It is very important that the international community understands all of this. This is how modern hybrid warfare works.”

The aircraft visible in the interceptor footage had a straight-wing configuration, fuselage proportions, and tail design consistent with Ukraine’s FP-series drones.

Russian forces could obtain such aircraft after they are forced to land by electronic warfare systems or crash because of technical failures. Drones that remain partially intact could potentially be repaired, reprogrammed, studied, or used as the basis for replicas.

In July, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz warned that Russia had recovered a significant number of Ukrainian drones and could use them in false-flag operations against Poland or other NATO members.

Such operations could be intended to create the appearance of a Ukrainian attack and increase political tensions between Kyiv and its Western partners. Polish security services have also warned that Russia could carry out military or hybrid provocations aimed at testing NATO’s response and weakening international support for Ukraine.

The warnings followed several incidents involving aerial objects entering neighboring countries during Russian attacks on Ukraine. On July 30, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile traveled nearly 100 kilometers into Polish territory before falling in the Lublin region.

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