Organizers of a major forum for Russian military drone operators have postponed this year’s event, citing intelligence that Ukraine was preparing an attack involving ballistic missiles and what they described as “terrorist bio-drones.”
The annual Dronnitsa meeting, scheduled for Aug. 29-30 in the city of Veliky Novgorod northwest of Moscow, brings together combat drone operators, technical specialists and volunteers involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Organizers said the decision was made following consultations with the Novgorod region’s leadership and Russian security services, who said protecting the forum would require diverting air defenses and security personnel from other locations.
“Exposing factories and bases in the Novgorod and neighboring regions for the sake of our own security would be wrong at this time, while holding the event under such risks would be overly presumptuous,” organizers said in a statement on Telegram.
Alexei Chadayev, the event’s principal founder, confirmed the decision, saying that Ukrainian forces “would not have targeted Dronnitsa itself” if the gathering had gone ahead. He did not elaborate.
