Smoke rises in Russia's Irkutsk region following a reported Ukrainian drone attack on a nearby airbase, in this still image from a video published on Sunday. Governor of Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev/Handout via Reuters
Ukraine has launched a series of coordinated drone strikes on Russian airbases, destroying dozens of combat aircraft and targeting strategic assets inside Russian territory.
CNN reports that the attacks struck at least four airbases located hundreds and even thousands of kilometers from Ukraine’s borders, including Belaya in Irkutsk, Dyagilevo in Ryazan, Olenya in Murmansk, and Ivanovo in western Russia.
The publication described the strikes as “the most ambitious simultaneous attacks on Russian airbases carried out by Ukraine since the war began”.
According to a source in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) quoted by CNN, the operation involved drones launched from trucks inside Russia.
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“Russian bombers were burning en masse,” the source said.
“The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”
More than 40 Russian aircraft were hit in the operation, the source said, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, as well as one of Russia’s few remaining A-50 surveillance planes.
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“This is not just symbolic,” the SBU source was said to have added.
“We are targeting aircraft that bomb our cities every night.” The damage inflicted on Russia was estimated at over $2 billion.
The Belaya airbase, located about 4,500 kilometers from Ukraine, appeared to suffer the most damage.
A video reportedly showing the aftermath includes a voice believed to be Vasyl Malyuk, head of the SBU.
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“How beautiful Belaya airfield looks now. Enemy’s strategic aircraft,” he was quoted as saying in the clip.
CNN confirmed the location of that video, along with two others shared on social media showing smoke rising from the Belaya base.
The network noted it had not independently verified other footage provided by the SBU.
The Russian ministry of defense confirmed that Ukraine had targeted airfields across five regions, describing the operation as a series of “terrorist attacks.”
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In a statement, the ministry said air defenses repelled drone strikes in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, but confirmed that “several pieces of aircraft” caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions.
It said the fires had since been extinguished.
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“There were no casualties as a result of the attacks,” the ministry added.
“Some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained.”
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In Irkutsk, Igor Kobziev confirmed that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya airfield.
“The exact number of drones is not yet known,” he said via Telegram.
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“Emergency and security services are on the ground.”
CNN further reports that the operation was “extremely complicated from a logistical point of view.”
The drones were reportedly transported in wooden mobile homes loaded onto trucks.
“The people involved are already back in Ukraine,” the SBU source said.
One video shows drones lifting off from a truck parked beside a highway.
Another image shows the truck’s roof lying on the ground after launch.
