Organizers cancel combat drone gathering citing risk of Ukrainian strike

Organizers of Dronnitsa, the annual gathering for Russian military drone operators, have indefinitely postponed this year's event, scheduled for August 29-30 in Veliky Novgorod, citing intelligence warnings that Ukraine was preparing an attack involving ballistic missiles and what they described as "terrorist bio-drones," according to statements released on Telegram and reported by the exiled investigative outlet Agentsvo. The decision, made following consultations with regional leadership and Russian security services, comes as the forum—which brings together combat drone operators, technical specialists, and volunteers involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine—was set to be held just 120 kilometres (75 miles) from President Vladimir Putin's Valdai residence, where his alleged partner Alina Kabaeva and their two sons are said to spend much of their time, and which is ringed by air defence systems.

Organizers said that protecting the forum would have required diverting air defences and security personnel from other locations, a move they deemed inappropriate given the broader security situation, adding that "exposing factories and bases in the Novgorod and neighbouring 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." Alexei Chadayev, the event's principal founder, confirmed the decision, suggesting that Ukrainian forces "would not have targeted Dronnitsa itself" had the gathering proceeded, though he offered no further elaboration, and The Moscow Times was unable to independently verify the claims about a planned Ukrainian operation, with no immediate comment forthcoming from Ukrainian authorities.

Since its inception in 2022, Dronnitsa has been held annually in the Novgorod region under the auspices of the Coordination Center for Assistance to Novorossiya, a group supporting Russia's war effort, aiming to promote a culture of "military unmanned aviation" and build a professional community of drone instructors, operators, and specialists in electronic intelligence and electronic warfare. Past sessions have focused on battlefield applications, lessons from combat, and the creation of specialised drone and counter-drone units, as well as the mass deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles and the integration of Russian and foreign experience into military development, with the event describing itself as a meeting place for those working "for the victory of Russian arms in the special military operation." The forum also gave rise to Ushkuynik, a research and production centre in Veliky Novgorod headed by Chadayev, which tests, modifies and certifies drone technology, including the Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky (KVN), a fibre-optic-controlled first-person-view drone that Chadayev has described as one of the most effective in its class given its development and procurement costs relative to the damage it has inflicted on Ukraine—a claim that could not be independently verified.