A complex and large-scale Ukrainian operation against Russia caused a heavy loss

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on Russian air bases on Sunday, reaching as far as Siberia, and Russia confirmed that several of its military aircraft had been set on fire, ahead of planned talks in Istanbul.

A Ukrainian security source said that Kyiv carried out a large-scale special operation targeting four military airports across Russia.

The Ukrainian security source added that approximately 41 aircraft used to “bomb Ukrainian cities” were hit, specifically targeting Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers and A-50 radar aircraft.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that several aircraft caught fire after drones were launched in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, located respectively in the Russian Arctic and Eastern Siberia, without reporting any casualties.

The first airport, Olenya, is located about 1,900 kilometers from Ukraine, while the second, Belaya, is located about 4,300 kilometers from Ukraine.

Ukrainian intelligence released a video purportedly showing the Belaya airbase, showing several aircraft on fire and plumes of black smoke rising from them.

Ukraine regularly carries out drone attacks on Russia in retaliation for airstrikes on its territory, but this time it appears to have used a completely different way.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the drones were launched from locations in the immediate vicinity of the airports.

This time, Ukraine smuggled drones into Russia, where they were then hidden in wooden structures on the roofs of shipping containers that were remotely opened to launch the drones, according to the Ukrainian source.

Videos, carried by Russian media but unverified, showed drones being launched from trucks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that one of the locations where the attack was planned in Russia was located next to the office of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Ukrainian operation, codenamed “Spider Web,” was planned more than a year and a half ago and overseen by Zelensky, according to the Ukrainian source.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack also targeted other airports in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, on the border with China in Russia’s Far East, but they were repelled.

On the other hand, the Russian authorities said that suspects were arrested, including the driver of the truck from which the drone was launched.

But Zelensky confirmed that “the attack was carried out using 117 drones and a similar number of personnel who were left the Russian territory in a timely manner”.

Like other Ukrainian officials, he praised the results, describing them as absolutely remarkable and “worthy of being mentioned in the history books”.

In contrast, Russian military bloggers denounced a “black day for aviation” in their country.

Russian military bloggers, which are close to the Russian military, described the Ukrainian operation as “a very severe blow,” without exaggeration, denouncing serious mistakes made by Russian intelligence.

It’s difficult to predict the consequences of this attack on Russia’s military capabilities, but its symbolic significance is important in the context of the negotiations, especially given that Ukraine is facing difficulties on the battlefield and its army is smaller and less well-armed than Russia’s.

This attack came on the eve of upcoming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Türkiye, proposed by Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Russian authorities said that they are investigating “terrorist acts” after two bridges collapsed in the Kursk and Bryansk regions.

This caused two trains to derail, one of which killed at least seven people.

Russian investigative authorities haven’t yet linked the two incidents to the conflict in Ukraine, which hasn’t officially commented on the bridge collapses.