Pro-Ukrainian partisans open drone corridors through Russia by burning the towers that block them, Atesh claims

The Ukrainian-affiliated partisan group Atesh said it carried out a series of sabotage operations in Russia’s Novgorod Oblast on 17 March, targeting electronic warfare (EW) infrastructure. 

Atesh is a clandestine network that regularly claims sabotage and intelligence operations inside Russian territory. The group describes itself as focused on disrupting military and communications infrastructure that it views as supporting the Russian war effort in Ukraine. 

Three EW towers burned to open a drone route

According to the group, three telecommunications towers equipped with EW antennas were set on fire in areas near Valdai, Demyansk, and Okhvat (Tver Oblast).

Atesh stated that the towers had been interfering with drone operations, and their destruction opened what the group described as a “corridor” for drones to reach an aircraft repair plant in Staraya Russa. 

Aircraft repair plant reportedly held two A-50s at time of strike

The plant reportedly services Russian military transport aircraft, including Il-76 and Il-78 planes and engines, and reportedly had two A-50 airborne early warning aircraft on site at the time of the attack.

The group said the operations were coordinated with Ukrainian forces, aiming to disable EW nodes along the drone route. Atesh claimed the destruction of the towers would prevent Russian forces from using these systems to interfere with unmanned aircraft operations, and that repairs to the aircraft plant could take months.

Grounding aircraft and degrading repair capacity

Atesh’s statement emphasized the strategic importance of the strike, noting that temporarily grounding aircraft and disrupting repairs could impact Russian military aviation capacity. The group said it intends to continue operations targeting systems that interfere with drone missions.

The claims cannot be independently verified.

From occupied territories to deep Russia: Atesh expands its target list

In recent months, Atesh has made EW infrastructure a recurring target. In February 2026, the group burned a jamming tower near Sevastopol that it said was interfering with Ukrainian drone operations over occupied Crimea. 

Days earlier, it destroyed a communications tower in Lipetsk that linked a UAV training center, a military airfield, and an artillery arsenal – saying the destruction left the arsenal more exposed to future strikes. 

Atesh has also provided reconnaissance that fed into direct Ukrainian military action: in March 2026, the group claimed its agents conducted repeated surveillance of the Kremniy El microelectronics plant in Bryansk before Ukrainian Storm Shadow missiles destroyed it.