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Russia Postpones Major Military Drone Operators Gathering Over Fears of Ukrainian Strike
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Russian organizers postponed the annual "Dronnitsa" gathering of military drone operators in Veliky Novgorod, claiming intelligence pointed to a planned combined Ukrainian strike during the event, according to a Telegram statement on August 12.
The organizers, who stage the assembly through the KTsPN analytical center, stated they had obtained "accurate and reliable information" about enemy plans to hit the gathering while it was underway.
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“Given the combined nature of the planned operation, involving both new ballistic capabilities and the good old ‘biological drone terrorists,’ protecting Dronnitsa participants would require deploying significant air defense and special-service forces, temporarily leaving facilities and enterprises in the Novgorod and neighboring regions exposed,” the organizers wrote.
"We decided that leaving factories and bases uncovered for the sake of our own safety is now wrong, and that holding the event under such risks is too presumptuous."
The fifth annual gathering had been scheduled for August 29–30 at Lake Ilmen, near Veliky Novgorod, with plans for lectures, seminars, master classes, a drone exhibition, and demonstration trials. The organizers stressed that the event was postponed rather than canceled and would be moved to a later date and location.
They added that a recent change in the command of Russia's Unmanned Systems Troops had prompted them to rebuild ties with the military first.
The lakeside venue sits roughly 120 kilometers from the Valdai residence of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, where he reportedly spends much of his time.
Last December, a large Ukrainian drone attack struck the Novgorod region near the retreat, an assault Russian authorities cast as an attempt on Putin's safety.
Western intelligence services doubted that reading, though Putin reportedly grew concerned about his security afterward and scaled back his public appearances.
Fears of drones concealed inside trucks have already reshaped security near the residence, where netting appeared over local truck parking lots, apparently to prevent launches from vehicles.
That specific fear traces to Operation Spiderweb, the June 2025 strike in which Ukraine's Security Service used civilian trucks carrying concealed drones to reach Russian air bases thousands of kilometers from the front. Ukrainian officials claimed 41 aircraft were hit in the coordinated attack, which reportedly took around 18 months to prepare.
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