Ukraine’s SBU security service announced that it successfully targeted Russian military aircraft valued at a total of $7 billion (€6.1 billion) in a series of drone strikes against Russian air bases located thousands of kilometers from the front lines.
“$7 billion: This is the estimated value of the enemy’s strategic aviation impacted today as a result of the SBU’s special operation,” the agency stated in a social media update.
Russia confirmed the arrest of several suspects following the drone strikes aimed at military airfields across five regions, which resulted in multiple aircraft igniting.
The assaults took place in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. According to the Russian defense ministry, air defenses successfully intercepted the assaults in all but two areas: Murmansk and Irkutsk.
The fires were extinguished, and no casualties were reported. The ministry noted that some individuals participating in the attacks had been detained.
Earlier, Ukraine claimed that the operations caused $2 billion (€1.7 billion) in damages to Russian aircraft stationed at the air bases, which are situated thousands of kilometers away.
Plumes of smoke were seen rising near airfields in Siberia.
A source from Ukraine’s SBU stated that the planned attacks within Russia were “intended to destroy enemy bombers far from the front.”
This source detailed that Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, Olenya in the Arctic near Finland, and the Ivanovo and Dyagilevo bases east of Moscow were targeted.
Reports indicated that more than 40 aircraft were hit at the Belaya base, with a fire breaking out there. The source shared a video showing several aircraft ablaze with black smoke rising.
Ukrainian secret services executed strikes on the strategic bombers at Russian bases by concealing explosive-laden drones within the roofs of wooden sheds, according to a security official and images circulated online.
The sheds were loaded onto trucks and transported to the perimeter of the air bases. The roof panels of the sheds were removed via a remotely activated mechanism, allowing the drones to ascend and commence their assault, the official explained.
This confidential security official indicated that strikes were carried out on four air bases, hitting a total of 41 Russian warplanes. Reuters has been unable to independently verify this claim.
Unverified videos and images circulating on Russian social media appeared to show Russian strategic bombers ablaze at the Belaya air base in Siberia’s Irkutsk region.
Regional governor Igor Kobzev noted a drone attack on a military unit near Sredny village, close to the Belaya base, although he did not specify the target. He mentioned that the drones had been launched from a truck.
The strike in the Irkutsk region marked the first instance of Ukraine launching a drone attack so far from the front lines, which are over 4,300 km (2,670 miles) away.
This distance exceeds the range of the long-range strike drones or ballistic missiles available to Ukraine, necessitating a unique approach to get the drones close enough to their targets.
Photographs provided to Reuters by the Ukrainian security official displayed numerous short-range quadrocopter drones stacked in an industrial facility. The official claimed these were the same devices used in the assault.
Additional images from the official depicted the wooden sheds with their metal roofing panels removed, revealing the drones nestled between roof beams.
Separate video content on Russian Telegram channels, yet to be verified by Reuters, seemed to illustrate identical sheds atop a truck.
The roof panels appeared next to the truck, and the footage showed at least two drones emerging from the tops of the sheds, taking flight.
Operation ‘Spider’s Web’
The Russian online media outlet featuring the video, Baza, indicated in a caption that it was filmed in the vicinity of the Belaya air base.
The Irkutsk region air base hosts Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic long-range strategic bombers, which have been utilized to launch missiles against targets in Ukraine.
The operation was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This operation, codenamed “Spider’s Web,” was reportedly managed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself along with Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU domestic intelligence agency.
If verified, these strikes would mark the most devastating Ukrainian drone operation of the conflict, significantly hindering Moscow’s military efforts.
The source shared drone footage claimed to show one of the strikes, showcasing several large aircraft, some appearing to be Tu-95 strategic bombers, engulfed in flames.
In a separate incident, Russian officials indicated that the collapse of two bridges in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, which resulted in seven fatalities, was caused by explosions.
Authorities did not specify the perpetrator of the explosions, but an investigation was underway, being treated as “acts of terrorism.”
Russia and Ukraine escalate hostilities ahead of peace talks.
These developments follow recent Russian ground advancements in Ukraine’s border region of Sumy, with both sides launching relentless aerial strikes against each other.
Mr. Zelensky announced that a Ukrainian delegation would be traveling to Istanbul, led by his Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, for talks with Russian officials scheduled for tomorrow.
Turkey is hosting this meeting, prompted by US President Donald Trump’s encouragement for a swift resolution to the three-year conflict.
President Zelensky, who previously expressed doubts regarding the seriousness of the Russian side in proposing tomorrow’s meeting, stated he had outlined the Ukrainian delegation’s stance for the discussions.
Key priorities included “a complete and unconditional ceasefire” and the repatriation of prisoners and abducted children, he shared on social media.
Russia has formulated its own peace terms but has refrained from disclosing them in advance. President Vladimir Putin has dismissed a Turkish proposal for the meeting to occur at a leaders’ level.
Russian news agencies reported that the Russian delegation was en route to Istanbul on Sunday for the talks.
