Ukraine hits over 40 Russian strategic bombers in ‘large-scale' attack: Media
Attack targets 4 airfields, including Belaya in Irkutsk region, whose administrative center is over 4,300 kilometers from border with Ukraine, says state news agency Ukrinform
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- Russian Defense Ministry claims attacks on 3 bases repulsed, while some planes at other airfields caught fire and extinguished
ISTANBUL
Ukraine's military conducted a "large-scale" attack on Russia, with state media claiming on Sunday that over 40 strategic bomber jets were destroyed in the strike using drones in various regions, including the Siberian region of Irkutsk, which is over 4,000 kilometers away from the border.
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency)
The country’s Security Service (SBU) has conducted a “large-scale special operation,” codenamed Spider Web, to destroy Russian bombers, Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported, citing sources in the SBU.
The report said SBU drones targeted planes used by Moscow in attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight.
More than 40 bombers are currently known to have been hit, the report claimed, adding that preparations for the "operation" took more than a year and a half.
The attack targeted four airfields at once, including Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya, according to the report.
The Belaya airbase is in Russia's Siberian region of Irkutsk, whose administrative center is more than 4,300 kilometers (2,670 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The source went on to describe the "operation" as "extremely complex" from a logistical point of view, with the SBU first transporting the drones to Russia, after which they were hidden under the roof of mobile wooden houses, which were then remotely opened.
A Ukrainian official told Axios that Kyiv did not inform US President Trump's administration of the attack in advance.
Russia confirms attacks
Though two regional governors have already confirmed the Ukrainian attack, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement later on Sunday claiming that the attacks on three bases failed, while some planes at other airfields caught fire and were extinguished.
Ukraine targeted airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, the ministry said.
Attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions were repulsed, according to the statement.
Several aircraft units caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions as a result of the launch of FPV drones from territory near the airfields, it added, noting that the fires have been extinguished and that no military or civilian personnel have been injured.
Some persons involved in the attacks have been detained, the ministry added.
Earlier, Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev on Telegram confirmed strikes on his region, saying a military unit in the settlement of Sredny was attacked by drones.
“The source from which the drones were launched has already been blocked. It was a truck,” he added.
Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis and Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov also reported drone attacks in their respective regions. The former, however, called information regarding explosions in the town of Severomorsk “fake.”
The town serves as the main naval base for Russia's Northern Fleet.
The SBU has yet to make an official comment on the reports.
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