Ukraine launches a “large-scale”:
According to state news agency Ukrinform, the attack targets four airfields, including Belaya in the Irkutsk region, whose administrative headquarters is more than 4,300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, strikes on three bases were repelled, although some aircraft at other airfields caught fire and were subsequently extinguished.
In a “large-scale” attack on Russia, Ukraine’s military used drones to destroy more than 40 strategic bomber jets in several locations, including the Siberian city of Irkutsk, which is more than 4,000 kilometers from the border, according to official media on Sunday.
Ukraine, according to Ukrinform, the state news service The Security Service (SBU) of Ukraine carried out a “large-scale special operation,” dubbed Spider Web, to destroy Russian bombers, according to the state news agency Ukrinform, which cited sources within the SBU.
According to the article, SBU drones targeted aircraft that Moscow deployed to launch midnight attacks on Ukrainian cities.
According to the article, preparations for the “operation” took more than a year and a half, and it is presently known that over 40 bombers were struck.
According to the source, the attack simultaneously targeted four airfields: Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya.
The SBU initially transported the drones to Russia, where they were concealed beneath the roof of movable wooden buildings that were subsequently remotely opened, the source continued, calling the “operation” “extremely complex” from a logistical perspective.
Kyiv failed to notify the US government ahead of time of the attack, a Ukrainian official told Axios.
Russia affirms the assaults
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement later Sunday that the strikes on three locations were unsuccessful and that some planes at other airfields caught fire and were put out, even though two regional governors had already acknowledged the Ukrainian attack.
According to the ministry, Ukraine targeted airfields in the Ryazan, Amur, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, and Murmansk areas.
The statement said it resisted attacks on military airfields in the Amur, Ryazan, and Ivanovo areas.
It further stated that FPV drones launched from area close to the airfields caused several aircraft units to catch fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk districts, but that the fires have been put out and that neither military nor civilian personnel have been hurt.
According to the ministry, some of the attackers have been taken into custody.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev earlier acknowledged raids on his district on Telegram, claiming drones hit a military unit in the Sredny village.
“We have already closed the source from which the drones were fired. He went on, “It was a truck.”
Drone assaults in their respective regions were also reported by Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov and Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis. However, the former referred to reports of explosions in the town of Severomorsk as “fake.”
Russia’s Northern Fleet uses the town as its primary naval station.
Regarding the reports, the SBU has not yet issued an official statement.
