Reports suggest that Ukraine has secretly embedded explosives into FPV drone goggles and sent them to a Russian unit disguised as civilian aid.
According to Igor Potapov, a representative of a company that supplies electronic warfare equipment to the Russian military, “A person named Roman delivered a batch of Skyzone Cobra X v4 FPV goggles to Russian soldiers through a support network. One of the goggles exploded when activated. Upon inspection, we discovered that explosive material was embedded inside all of the devices,” he told the TASS news agency on February 8.
The FPV goggles, which fit snugly over the face and eyes, receive signals from first-person view drones and display them for the user, allowing them to see as if they were in the cockpit of an aircraft.
Potapov urged Russian soldiers to be extremely cautious when receiving humanitarian aid from unknown sources. “Assistance needs to be verified if it comes from unfamiliar people. While it’s great to have philanthropists wanting to help, it’s crucial to establish their identities,” he emphasized.
Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials have commented on the information as of now.
The batch of FPV goggles embedded with explosives, captured in a photo posted on February 8. Photo: Telegram/Apwagner
The account Razved_Dozor, known for sharing information about Russian forces involved in Ukraine, published images on the same day showing the goggles disassembled. The images revealed a plastic container holding explosives and a detonator inside. This explosive device was estimated to weigh nearly 15 grams and was placed near the temple of the wearer.
“The user would be killed instantly if the explosive detonated, and those nearby could also be injured,” stated the account.
The Apwagner Telegram account, previously linked to the Wagner private military company, alleged that this was a scheme by Ukrainian forces. “They were quite careless; it’s evident that the goggles had been opened beforehand. I am certain this is just the beginning, and such sabotage actions will increase,” the account wrote.
This account also drew parallels between this incident and an Israeli intelligence operation that secretly planted explosives in a series of pagers and radios used by the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon. These devices detonated simultaneously in September 2024, resulting in nearly 40 fatalities and around 3,000 injuries.
Explosives found inside the FPV goggles, captured in a photo posted on February 8. Photo: X/angelys667
However, Howard Altman, an editor for the American military news site War Zone, pointed out that the two operations differ significantly. The Israeli operation was highly sophisticated, resulting from years of preparation and executed simultaneously, leaving the adversary unprepared.
“The plan to embed explosives in FPV goggles is unlikely to achieve the same effectiveness, as Ukraine cannot deliver a large quantity of devices to Russian units and detonate them simultaneously as Israel did,” Altman stated.