Ukraine launches major drone attack on Russian bombers, security official says

Ukraine has launched a “large-scale” drone attack against Russian military bombers in Siberia, striking more than 40 warplanes thousands of kilometres from its own territory, a security official said.

The claims could not be independently verified. But if confirmed, the attacks would mark Ukraine’s most damaging drone strike of the war to date, amid an escalation in cross-border incursions before planned peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.

“Ukrainian security services are carrying out a large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bombers far from the front, in Russia,” the official was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, adding a fire had broken out at the targeted Belaya airbase.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were conducted by Ukraine’s SBU domestic intelligence agency, and had simultaneously struck four Russian military airbases.

Among the more than 40 aircraft reportedly hit were Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian cities.

Reuters said the source provided video footage reportedly showing the strikes, in which several large aircraft appearing to be Tu-95 bombers were on fire. The Tu-95 was originally used to carry nuclear bombs and now launches cruise missiles.

Several Russian and Ukrainian media outlets reported that Ukraine carried out the operation by launching drones from lorries parked near military airfields deep inside Russia.

According to a source cited by the well-connected Ukrainska Pravda, the operation — codenamed “Spiderweb” — had been in preparation for more than 18 months. The outlet reported that the drones were first smuggled into Russia and later concealed under the roofs of small wooden structures, which were mounted on the lorries.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russia’s security services, published footage that appeared to show men in Siberia’s Irkutsk region climbing on to a lorry in an attempt to prevent drones from launching.

Footage from several military airfields across Russia showed destroyed aircraft and planes engulfed in flames, though the full extent of the damage remained unclear.

In one clip, filmed at the burning airbase in Voskresensk, Moscow region, a Russian serviceman is heard saying, “It’s fucked here,” as several bombers burn in the background.

Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has been chronically outgunned by Russia in terms of military firepower. But it has developed a nimble and sizeable fleet of attack drones used to pummel Russia’s army and energy infrastructure.

The Belaya airbase reportedly targeted on Sunday is in Russia’s Irkutsk oblast, more than 4,000km from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Kyiv Independent newspaper said the oblast’s governor, Igor Kobzev, later confirmed “a drone attack on a military unit in the village of Sredny”, but gave no further details.

The attack came as Russian investigators said they believed “explosions” had caused two bridges in the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk to collapse overnight, derailing trains, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens.

In Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, a road bridge collapsed on to a railway line late on Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing at least seven people. A rail bridge in neighbouring Kursk also collapsed overnight, derailing a freight train and injuring the driver, officials said. Kursk also borders Ukraine.

It said Murmansk oblast’s governor, Andrey Chibis, also confirmed that “enemy drones have attacked the territory of the Murmansk region”.

In March, Ukraine said it had developed a new drone with a range of 3,000km without providing further details.

Separately, the Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 472 drones overnight, the highest nightly total of the war so far, as well as seven missiles.

Ukraine had previously refused to commit to attending a new round of direct talks in Turkey but on Sunday President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a delegation led by his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, would be in Istanbul.

“I have also defined our position before the Monday meeting in Istanbul”, which includes priorities to reach “a complete and unconditional ceasefire” and the return of prisoners and abducted children, he said on social media.

Source: The Guardian