Satellite images show Russian bombers destroyed in Ukraine attack
New satellite images and drone footage show serious damage inflicted on aircraft at several Russian airbases during Ukraine's surprise drone strike on Sunday.
The images of two Russian airbases in north-western and central Russia, taken on Wednesday morning, show 12 aircraft damaged or destroyed.
Meanwhile, drone footage, released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Wednesday, showed attacks on these two bases as well as two more targeted elsewhere.
Ukraine claims that it targeted 41 strategic bombers in the operation, adding that "at least" 13 were destroyed. Security officials say the shock incursion took 18 months to plan and saw many drones smuggled into Russia.
The SBU video is almost five minutes long and consists of edited footage taken by drones in the process of conducting attacks on Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Belaya airbases.
In each shot the feed cuts out before any explosion, but in some instances we see other planes on fire in the background.
At no point do we see any indication of defensive measures from Russian forces, even after the attack was clearly well underway.
Many of the aircraft are covered in tyres - a Russian tactic said to be aimed at mitigating against drone strikes.
Some of the aircraft are seen apparently loaded with cruise missiles and well fuelled - judging by the extent and spread of fires. This suggests they were prepared to conduct strikes.
The clearest satellite imagery covers Olenya and Belaya and shows five damaged or destroyed planes at the former and seven at the latter.
Olenya is a major Russian airbase in the north-west of the country.
The SBU footage shows smoke pouring from three aircraft, identified as Tu-95 strategic bombers and an approach to a fourth. Video footage also shows a drone approaching a Tu-22M strategic bomber sitting on the runway in this very same position.
Satellite imagery from Maxar clearly shows a destroyed aircraft sitting beside a row of Tu-22M type aircraft.
Manufacturing of both the Tu-95 and Tu-22 ended at the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, which will make repair difficult and replacement near impossible.
Elsewhere in the SBU video, an AN-12 Transporter can be seen being approached. The Maxar satellite image does not show the aftermath of this, but other imagery reviewed by BBC Verify from AviVector - a satellite image analyst on X - suggests that it too was destroyed.
Imagery provided by Planet Labs from this morning shows the entirety of Belaya airbase in Irkutsk Oblast, nearly 3,000km from the Ukrainian border.
It shows three damaged Tu-95s and four Tu-22s and in various parts of the base. The SBU footage shows many of the same aircraft being approached.
In two instances we see the drone carefully position itself on the wing of a Tu-95 - next to one of its fuel tanks.
The final shot of the footage shows smoke rising from numerous sites across the base.
At Ivanovo airbase two A50-AWACS planes are seen being targeted. The aircraft serves as an early warning and control asset - or spy plane - and is identifiable by the sizeable radar system on its fuselage.
Ukraine previously shot down two of these aircraft in January and February 2024.
As yet we have not seen any imagery or footage that captures any damage to these aircraft at Ivanovo.
While satellite imagery from the site does show wreckage, BBC Verify has confirmed that the damage was present at the site before Sunday's attack and is likely from another incident.
The SBU footage from Dyagilevo in Ryazan region shows three Tu-22s being approached, but there is no clear indication of damage sustained in either the footage or available satellite imagery.
Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh
What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
How Ukraine carried out daring 'Spider Web' attack on Russian bombers
Ukraine drones strike bombers during major attack in Russia
Video appears to show Ukraine drone attack in Russia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Elon is going to get decimated:' How Trump's feud with the world's richest man might end
'Elon is going to get decimated:' How Trump's feud with the world's richest man might end Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump gives his thoughts on Elon Musk amid clash on bill President Donald Trump responded to Elon Musk's criticism of his "big, beautiful bill" with disappointment as Musk responded on X. WASHINGTON — If history is any guide, and there is a lot of history, the explosive new falling out between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk is not going to end well for the former White House advisor and world's richest man. The political battlefield is littered with the scorched remains of some of Trump's previous allies who picked a fight with him or were on the receiving end of one. Lawyer Michael Cohen. Political advisor Steve Bannon. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. John Bolton, John Kelly and Chris Christie, to name just a few. 'If what happened to me is any indication of how they handle these matters, then Elon is going to get decimated,' said Cohen, the former long-term Trump lawyer and fixer who once said he'd 'take a bullet' for his boss. Musk, he said, "just doesn't understand how to fight this type of political guerilla warfare." 'They're going to take his money, they're going to shutter his businesses and they're going to either incarcerate or deport him,' Cohen said of what he thinks Musk will suffer at the hands of Trump and his administration. 'He's probably got the White House working overtime already, as we speak, figuring out how to close his whole damn thing down.' Cohen had perhaps the most spectacular blow up, until now, with Trump. He served time in prison after Trump threw him under the bus by denying any knowledge of pre-election payments Cohen made to a porn actress to keep her alleged tryst with Trump quiet before the 2016 election. More: President Trump threatens Elon Musk's billions in government contracts as alliance craters Cohen felt so betrayed by Trump that he titled his memoir 'Disloyal,' but the Trump administration tried to block its publication. Cohen ultimately fought back, becoming a star witness for the government in the state 'hush money' case and helped get Trump convicted by a Manhattan jury. Some suffered similar legal attacks and other slings and arrows, including Trump taunts and his trademark nasty nicknames. Trump vilified others, casting them into the political wilderness with his MAGA base. When Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump savaged him, calling his appointment a 'mistake' and lobbing other epithets. Sessions resigned under pressure in 2018. When he tried to resurrect his political career by running for his old Senate seat in Alabama, Trump endorsed his opponent, who won the GOP primary. After firing Tillerson, Trump called the former ExxonMobil chief lazy and 'dumb as a rock.' Trump still taunts Christie, an early supporter and 2016 transition chief, especially about his weight. Trump also had a falling out with Bannon, who was instrumental in delivering his presidential victory in 2016 and then joined the White House as special advisor. 'Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency,' Trump said in 2018, a year after Bannon's ouster from the White House. 'When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.' Trump's Justice Department even indicted Bannon in 2020 for fraud, though the President pardoned him before leaving office. One of Trump's biggest feuds was with Bolton, whom he fired as his national security advisor in 2019. Trump used every means possible to prevent his book, 'The Room Where it Happened,' from being published, Bolton told USA TODAY on Thursday. That included having the U.S. government sue his publisher on the false premise that Bolton violated a nondisclosure agreement and was leaking classified information, Bolton said. Bolton said Musk is unlike most others who have crossed swords with Trump in that he has unlimited amounts of money and control of a powerful social media platform in X to help shape the narrative. Musk also has billions in government contracts that even a vindictive Trump will have a hard time killing, as he threatened to do on Thursday, without significant legal challenges. Even so, Bolton said, "It's going to end up like most mud fights do, with both of them worse off. The question is how much worse the country is going to be off."
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Intense Russian air attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv kills 3, wounds 49
Intense Russian air attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv kills 3, wounds 49 Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says Putin will respond to Ukraine attack after phone call President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an hour-long phone call, which he described as a "good conversation." KYIV, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Fridayand three people were killed, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country. The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conveyed via U.S. President Donald Trump, that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks deep inside Russia. Kyiv'smilitary administration said three people were killed in the attacks on Kyiv after the mayor initially put the death toll at four. The three were first responders who had rushed to the scene of one of the strikes, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. "Overnight, Russia 'responded' to its destroyed aircraft… by attacking civilians in Ukraine…. Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. More: 'Sometimes you have to let them fight': Trump compares Russia, Ukraine to brawling children President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 49 people nationwide had been injured in the overnight attacks, which also struck several other towns and cities as well as Kyiv, as he called on Ukraine's Western allies to ramp up pressure on Russia. The air force said Russia had used 407 drones, one of the largest numbers recorded in a single attack. Forty-five cruise and ballistic missiles were also fired, it said. Kyiv's metro transport system was disrupted by a Russian strike that hit and damaged tracks between stations, Kyiv's military administration said. The state rail company said it was also diverting some trains due to rail damage outside the city. BOOMING EXPLOSIONS Reuters witnesses reported a series of booming explosions powerful enough to rattle windows far from the impact sites. Some Kyiv residents sought shelter in metro stations, or in underground car parks. In the capital's Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone slammed into the side of an apartment building, leaving a gaping hole and burn marks, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. Falling concrete blocks from the building crushed cars parked below. Two police investigators were examining what appeared to be the drone's engine. More: Trump says Putin vowed retaliation against Ukraine after major drone attack Earlier in the night, Reuters reporters heard the sound of Russian kamikaze drones buzzing in the sky, accompanied by the sounds of outgoing fire from Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire. Zelenskiy called for concerted pressure on Russia. "If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively," he wrote on X. As well as Kyiv, Russian forces also struck industrial facilities and infrastructurein the western city of Ternopil, leaving parts of it without power, mayor Serhii Nadal said. The regional administration said the attack had injured 10 people and recommended that residents temporarily stay inside due to a high concentration of toxic substances in the air after a fire. Five people were also injured in the northwestern city of Lutsk where an attack damaged private homes, educational institutions and a government building, according to mayor Ihor Polishchuk. Ukrainian military said it had launched a pre-emptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs. In one of the most audacious attacks of the war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian spies last weekend destroyed some of Russia's strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadrocopter drones hidden in wooden sheds. After a phone conversation with Putin on Wednesday, Trump said the Kremlin was planning an unspecified response to the Ukrainian attack on the Russian air bases. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder, Gleb Garanich and Anastasiia Malenko; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Clarence Fernandez and Gareth Jones)
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine strikes Russian air bases in 'preemptive strike' ahead of drone, missile attack, General Staff says
Ukrainian forces struck multiple Russian airfields and military facilities overnight on June 6, hours before Russia launched one of its heaviest aerial assaults of the war, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported. Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted Engels and Dyagilevo airfields — two key hubs for Russia's long-range bomber fleet, as well as logistics sites in Russia's Kursk Oblast. Hours after the strikes, Russia attacked Ukraine with 452 drones and 45 missiles, killing at least five people and injuring 73 in one of the largest attacks of the full-scale war. Engels-2 air base, located in Saratov Oblast, nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine's front lines, hosts Russia's Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers — aircraft regularly used in missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Ukraine's General Staff said a strike ignited large fires at the facility, hitting at least three fuel tanks. Footage and local reports confirmed a significant blaze and numerous explosions in the area. Saratov Governor Roman Busargin acknowledged a fire at an unspecified "industrial enterprise" and damage from drones to a residential building. No casualties were reported. 0:00 / 1× The Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan Oblast, home to air refueling tankers and bomber escort fighters, was also targeted. The General Staff reported fire damage in the area, with Russian air defense activity and explosions recorded. Results of the strike are still being assessed. Ukraine also claims to have struck a logistics center tied to the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment of Russia's 72nd Division near Kulbaki in Kursk Oblast. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that 174 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight across 12 regions of Russia and occupied Crimea. "Strikes on military infrastructure will continue until the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine is completely stopped," Ukraine's General Staff said. The latest wave of Ukrainian strikes underscores Kyiv's evolving long-range strike capability, as well as its efforts to preemptively degrade Russian assets used in air assaults. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on June 1 launched Operation Spiderweb, a daring mass drone attack that damaged 41 Russian heavy bombers at four key airfields throughout the country. The operation reportedly targeted A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-22 M3 planes parked at the Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo air bases, causing approximately $7 billion in damage. Read also: Russia plans to occupy Ukraine east of Dnipro, cut Black Sea access, Ukrainian official says We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
