Ukraine’s plan to blow up Russian soldiers unveiled, explosives found in…; What’s the connection to Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon?

The drone headsets which exploded, were reportedly a personal donation by an unnamed donor, which is not uncommon as both countries have resorted to crowdfunding at various points since the Russia-Ukraine war began.

Russia-Ukraine war: In a new development in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Russia reportedly uncovered Ukraine’s plan to covertly blow up Russian soldiers using drone VR headsets being used by Moscow’s forces. According to Russian state media, these headsets, which had been ‘donated’ to the Russian Army, exploded as soon as they were switched on, and were later found to be fitted with plastic explosives upon examination.

Ukraine’s purported plan to take out Russian soldiers bears eerie similarities to how Israel carried out a similar covert attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year, when hundreds of their pagers, reportedly  were remotely detonated, killing over 30 people, and injuring thousands.

Headsets exploded when switched on

According to Igor Potapov, a spokesperson of JSC NPP KLASS — a Russian manufacturer that supplies protective equipment to the Russian Armed Forces– the VR headsets which were meant to be used by Russian Army’s drone operators, exploded when they were switched on, adding that the equipment was later found to contain plastic explosives, bearing clear signs of being a covert Ukrainian cyber attack, TASS reported.

Potapov said the ‘Skyzone Cobra X V4’ headsets, which are control first-person view (FPV) drones, were donated by someone, and upon investigation, soldiers found the entire batch was installed with plastic explosives, the report said.

Plastic explosives inside VR headsets

Notably, Skyzone, which made the headsets, supplies drones to several countries, including Russia and Ukraine, but the firm does not list JSC NPP as one of its manufacturers. Both Russia and Ukraine have extensively used the Skyzone drones for surveillance and targeting missions, since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in February 2022.

Citing a Russian Telegram channel, reports claimed that boxes in which the Skyzone headsets were shipped had clear signs of tampering, and the units were found to contain 10 to 15 grams of plastic explosives.

Similarities with Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon

The alleged plot to covertly assassinate Russian soldiers is eerily similar to what Israel achieved in September last year when it remotely detonated hundreds of pagers that were being used by alleged Hezbollah members in Lebanon.

Matthew Ford, a war expert and lecturer of international relations at the University of Sussex, Britain, also drew comparisons between the Israeli attack and the alleged Ukrainian plot, stating that Mossad, Israel’s infamous spy agency, had planned the attack for months, hacked the supply chain, and infiltrated Hezbollah ranks to orchestrate the bombings.

As per a Reuters report, at the time, the pagers which exploded, were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah. Many of the injured suffered critical wounds to their face, eyes, and limbs and have been hospitalised, the report had said.

Lebanese internal security forces had said in a statement that a number of wireless communication devices were detonated across Lebanon, especially in Beirut’s southern suburbs, leading to injuries.

Meanwhile, the drone headsets in which explosives were found, were reportedly a personal donation by an unnamed donor, which is not uncommon as both countries have resorted to crowdfunding at various points since the Russia-Ukraine war began.