Ukrainian drones attacked Plesetsk space centre, Roscosmos says
The drone attack took place as the spaceport in northern Russia was preparing to launch a rocket, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov reportedly told Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.
State propaganda agency RIA Novosti reported that the Ukrainian drone attack was discussed during a recent meeting between Bakanov and Putin in the Kremlin.
“The enemy attempted to launch a drone attack on the Plesetsk Cosmodrome while broadband internet satellites were being prepared for launch,” Bakanov reportedly said.
The attack is believed to have taken place on March 25, 2026.
Bakanov claimed there were “serious attempts to infiltrate the cosmodrome that day”.
“Nevertheless, the joint combat crews from Roscosmos and the Space Forces carried out their mission,” Bakanov said, according to RIA Novosti.
“When people say that space is above politics, our ‘friends’ did everything in their power to prevent this launch from taking place,” the head of the state space company told the dictator.
The Kremlin’s official press release about the meeting between Putin and Bakanov made no mention of the drone attack.
The reported date of the attack coincides with a statement from the Russian war ministry. On March 25, the ministry said that 85 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs had been intercepted and destroyed by air defence units, including in the Arkhangelsk region, according to a Telegram post.
The drone attack may have caused a delay in the launch. The ministry did not release any information about a space launch on March 25, but nine days later, it reported the successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1a medium-class launch vehicle carrying space units.
This was likely not the first Ukrainian attack on Plesetsk. The Russian war ministry also issued a drone attack warning on November 23, 2025, when two Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down over the Arkhangelsk region.
The Plesetsk space centre is one of Russia’s main sites for launching military satellites. Located about 200 kilometres south of the Arkhangelsk City, the cosmodrome is also crucial for testing Russia’s land-based ballistic nuclear missiles.
