Ukraine starts the major offensive against Russian air force base points

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Ukraine carries out large -scale drone attacks to four Russian air force bases and hits over 40 fighter jets. The operation is considered the most ambitious since the beginning of the war.
Ukraine carries out large -scale drone attacks to four Russian air force bases and hits over 40 fighter jets. The operation is considered the most ambitious since the beginning of the war. (Symbolbild/DNAT)

The Ukraine has a large-scale drone attacks on four airwaffen bases deep in Russia carried out, as a source of the Ukrainian security service (SBU) reported. If they are confirmed, these attacks could be the most ambitious simultaneous blows of Ukraine at Russian air force bases since the beginning of the war.

Details of the attacks

The SBU report says that Russian bombers were "massive on fire" on four air force bases. The drones are said to have been started by trucks within Russia. More than 40 aircraft, including TU-95 and TU-22M3 strategic bombers and one of the few remaining A-50 monitoring aircraft, were damaged.

destinations of the attacks

Among the attacked airfields were Belaya in Irkutsk, about 4,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, as well as the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan, around 520 kilometers away-a training center for Russia's strategic bomber fleet. The Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic circle, more than 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine, and the Ivanovo air force base, over 800 kilometers from Ukraine, were also attacked.

reactions from Russia

An official statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense on these attacks is still pending. Igor Kobziev, the governor of the Irkutsk region, confirmed on Telegram that drones had been started by a truck near the Belaya base. The exact number of drones used had not yet been determined, he added.

damage and direction of the operation

The SBU drones aimed at airplanes that bomb Ukrainian cities every night, and the estimated damage to the Russian side is over $ 2 billion. A video provided by the source allegedly shows the burning area of ​​the Belaya Air Base and the voice of the head of the SBU, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, who comments on the situation. "How beautiful the Belaya Air Force Base now looks. The enemy's strategic aircraft," he says.

Logistical challenges of the operation

The SBU's source explained that the operation was "logistically extremely complicated". The drones were hidden in wooden mobile houses that had been transported to Russia with trucks. "The drones were hidden among the roofs of the houses that were already placed on trucks. At the crucial moment, the roofs were opened remotely, and the drones flew off to hit the Russian bombers," added the source.

The return of the operating participants

The video of an attack shows recordings that apparently show drones that start from a truck while vehicles drive past a nearby highway. Another picture shows the roof of a truck on the floor. The source added that the people involved were already back in Ukraine.

CNN correspondent Frankie Vetch and Eve Brennan contributed to this report.