Ukraine hit more than 40 Russian bomber aircraft at multiple bases across Russia, using drones smuggled into the country and launched remotely off the back of trucks, security sources said.
It is one of the most audacious Ukrainian special operations since the start of Vladimir Putin’s war more than three years ago – and is a huge breach of Russia’s national defences.
In a further humiliation for the Kremlin, Ukraine’s president revealed that the “office” where the secret Ukrainian mission was conducted inside Russia was located next to a facility run by the Russian security services, the FSB.
“In total, 117 drones were used in the operation,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message posted on social media.
“And the corresponding number of drone operators were working. Thirty four percent of the strategic cruise missile carriers at the airfields were hit.
“Our people were operating in different Russian regions – in three time zones. And our people were withdrawn from the territory of Russia on the eve of the operation, and now they are safe – those who helped us.”
The targeting of the bomber force will degrade the Russian military’s ability to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.
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Videos shared with Sky News by Ukraine’s SBU Security Service purport to show a line of Russian strategic bombers with smoke billowing out of them.
“Enemy strategic bombers are massively burning in Russia – this is the result of a special SBU operation,” a security source said.
These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
The operation – codenamed “spider’s web” – sounds more like a plot from a science fiction movie than reality, but it shows how new technology has transformed the battlefield.
It also reveals the vulnerability of large bases and expensive pieces of military equipment.
A security source said Ukrainian operatives smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia.
They then brought in a load of wooden, flat-pack, garden office-style containers.
These huts were constructed, with the drones hidden inside them, before being put on to the back of trucks and driven to locations from where the attacks were launched.
At the right moment, hatches on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely, and the drones were piloted onto their targets, according to the source.
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The drones were hidden in truck containers and the tops remotely lifted for the drones to be flown out. Pic: SBU Security Service
The source said the mission took one and a half years to plan and was supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sources said the individuals who took part in this special operation have been back in Ukraine for a long time.
They claimed that anyone detained in Russia by the Russian authorities would be just for show.
Offering details of the actual attack, a second source said four bases were targeted. It was not possible independently to confirm the claim.
“Right now, the Security Service of Ukraine is conducting a large-scale special operation to destroy enemy bombers in the rear of Russia,” the source said.
“The SBU drones are targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night. So far, more than 40 planes have been hit, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3.”
The Tu-95 and Tu-22 are both heavy bombers that can fire cruise missiles.
The locations of the Ukrainian targets
At least one of the videos shared with Sky News is purportedly of the Belaya airfield, more than 2,500 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Sources claimed to have inflicted more than $2bn (£1.4bn) worth of damage on the Russian air force.
“We are waiting for the details. And we hope that the number of hit aircraft will increase!” one source said.
The latest toll was 41 aircraft, according to Ukrainian sources.
The other Russian airbases targeted by Ukraine were: Diagilevo, Olenya and Ivanovo airfields.
