Russia launches air attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv, mayor says
June 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on the capital Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said early on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.
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Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Ukraine is gaining the upper hand. Putin will be terrified
Ukraine's extraordinary attack deep inside Russia has, at a stroke, rewritten the rules of modern war. On Sunday a swarm of small drones, each costing under $500, rose over four Russian airfields deep inside Siberia and the Arctic and destroyed over forty strategic bombers reportedly worth over $7 billion. Thanks to meticulous planning, sophisticated military imagination and an underdog's boldness of vision, Kyiv's forces have landed a stunning blow on their far stronger opponent, opening a new chapter in the history of human conflict. The question that will be haunting Putin is – what's next? Ukraine's famously stone-faced chief of military intelligence, or HUR, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, has built his covert operations forces into a weapon as deadly, if not more so, than Israel's Mossad, its only international rival. And like the Biblical champion Goliath, it is precisely the vast lumbering size of Russia that makes it fatally vulnerable to small but precisely aimed projectiles from David's small but deadly slingshot. Many of the details of Sunday's drone operation come from the Ukrainian side, so may be taken with a pinch of salt. But the basic logistics of the strike are in no doubt. Ukrainian military engineers, possibly already inside Russia, covertly loaded dozens of explosives-laden drones into special compartments set into the roofs of standard 40-foot steel shipping containers. Using a network of haulage companies set up for the purpose, Ukrainian operatives recruited truck drivers via commercial apps to drive their loads to specific designations next to military airfields thousands of miles away from the Ukrainian border. At a predetermined time the drones buzzed into the air and headed for the airfields with their deadly payloads – to the amazement of the Russian drivers, some of whom posted profanity-laced mobile phone footage of their own rigs – and suddenly transformed into mobile drone-launch platforms. First-person footage from the drones released by the HUR shows the unmanned aerial vehicles carefully lining up over fuel tanks in the bombers' wings before closing in for the kill. Military drone specialists have speculated that the drones were not targeted remotely by human operators but were rather programmed by artificial intelligence to recognise the distinctive shape of Russian Tu-22 and Tu-95 strategic bombers, making them invulnerable to electronic jamming. If the sci-fi novelty of the strikes seems like something out of the dystopian world of Black Mirror, the revolutionary implications for the future of warfare are plain enough. A world where multibillion dollar pieces of sophisticated military hardware can be eliminated en masse by drones light enough to be held in one hand and simple enough to assemble in a garage is one where the conventional balance of power has been upended forever. What should really be worrying Putin is how target-rich his country is for Kyiv's drone hunters. His economy is dependent on a vast network of oil and gas wells pipelines, pumping stations, refineries, storage depots and shipping terminals. Many such facilities have already been targeted by older generation long-range drones, which resemble slow-moving miniature civilian aircraft loaded with explosives. These were launched from inside Ukraine and were vulnerable to anti-missile defences and radio jamming – though a few succeeded in scoring psychologically important hits, for instance a bullseye right on the roof of the Kremlin's Senate Palace back in May 2023. Imagine the devastating power of the new Ukrainian drones, pre-programmed with visual coordinates and launched from just a few hundred yards from their targets, on airports, bridges, factories and military headquarters. The HUR has, like Mossad, also shown a steely disregard for moral niceties in pursuit of revenge. Back in October 2022 a Russian truck driver was recruited as an unwitting suicide bomber as he picked up a commercial payload across the Kerch Bridge linking Russia proper with occupied Crimea. The container was packed with explosives, seriously damaging the bridge and killing the driver. Suicide bombing by false-flag recruitment has become an HUR signature. Last week a man reportedly recruited to honeytrap a senior Russian commander via a gay dating app was blown up, along with his target, with a bomb concealed in a hidden camera he had been given to wear supposedly to record the liaison. Until this year, Kyiv's allies and sponsors in Washington had frowned on this kind of borderline terror activity for fear of provoking Russian escalation. The CIA was furious when a team of six Ukrainian divers intentionally destroyed the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022 (though Western intelligence, fearful of a backlash against continued support for Ukraine, kept publicly quiet about the operation). But with the Trump administration disengaging from both material support for Kyiv and control over the Ukraine's war effort, the gloves are now off.
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
A surprise drone attack on airfields across Russia encapsulates Ukraine's wartime strategy
The covert operation was described as one for the 'history books' by Ukraine's president. In the span of a few hours on Sunday, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials. The undertaking by Ukraine's Security Service, codenamed 'Spiderweb,' involved more than 18 months of painstaking planning and great risk. It was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It came to fruition at a time in the 3-year-old war when peace talks have failed to deliver the unconditional ceasefire long-sought by Kyiv, and as Moscow continues to launch record-breaking numbers of drone and missile barrages. The attack on Sunday encapsulates Ukraine's wartime strategy: Outnumbered, outgunned and dependent on Western partners, Ukrainian military planners have sought innovative and cost-effective means to exact Russian losses, often leaning on the element of surprise. Here's what we know about the Ukrainian attack so far: Ukraine says 4 airfields were attacked Zelenskyy said 117 drones were used in the operation in which four military airfields were attacked resulting in the severe damage or destruction of 34% of Russia's fleet of air missile carriers. The complex operation was directed from an office that was next door to an office of the Russian security service, the FSB, Zelenskyy said, without elaborating on where in Russia it was. Executing it involved smuggling in first-person view, or FPV, drones to Russia, where they were placed in wooden containers, which were eventually taken by truck close to the airfields. From there, the drones flew to strike Russia's strategic bombers. Social media footage shared by Russian media on the day of the attack showed drones rising from inside the containers. By the end, over 40 Russian warplanes were severely damaged or destroyed with costs estimated to be around $7 billion, according to Ukraine's security service. Among the most striking targets was Belaya air base in the Siberian region of Irkutsk — over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away from Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, saying they damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, as well as the Murmansk region in the north. It said strikes were also repelled in the Amur region in Russia's Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, the ministry said. There was no way to independently verify the claims from either side. The attack targeted bombers used to strike Ukraine Strategic aircraft, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M, were destroyed in the attack, according to the SBU. Moscow has previously used Tu-95 and Tu-22M long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, while A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defenses and guided missiles. Ukraine has long hoped to degrade Russia's ability to deploy bombers that launch deadly missile barrages against Ukrainian cities, against which Kyiv has limited means to respond. The loss of the planes could reduce Russia's ability to deliver devastating missile barrages against Ukraine. The attack comes right as Moscow has unleashed a record-breaking number of drones and missiles against Ukraine to degrade domestic weapons production capabilities, shatter morale and consume Kyiv's limited quantities of air defense missiles. Often these attacks have also struck civilians. The attack gives Ukraine a morale boost The attack also gives Ukraine a morale boost at a time when peace talks have sputtered and could undermine Russian confidence that it can win the war with ease. It was launched a day before a round of direct peace talks took place in Istanbul on Monday. It also occurred on the same day as Russia launched a record number of 472 drones against Ukraine in yet another barrage. 'The enemy thought it could bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians with impunity and without end. But that is not the case. We will respond to Russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere — at sea, in the air, and on land,' said the head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, on Monday. 'And if necessary, we'll get them from underground too,' he added. The attack is the latest to use the element of surprise Despite suffering setbacks and shortcomings on the battlefield, throughout the war Kyiv has sought to focus on Russia's rear to cripple and neutralize combat capabilities. Sunday's operation is perhaps the most brazen in a series mounted by Ukraine. In April 2022, Ukraine sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, after striking it with two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. The sinking marked a major Ukrainian victory in the war. In October 2022, a Ukrainian attack damaged the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea. The bridge, which holds important strategic and symbolic value, was hit again in July 2023. A year later, in August 2024, Ukrainian forces launched a daring military incursion into Russia's Kursk region, the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II. It dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin. Russia claimed in April 2025 that it had fully reclaimed the border territory, though Ukraine insists it still has troops present there.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Operation Spiderweb: a visual guide to Ukraine's destruction of Russian aircraft
A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed billions of dollars worth of Russian aircraft stationed at bases across the country, including at locations as far away as Siberia, in what Kyiv claims is its longest-range assault of the war. The spectacular operation, dubbed Spiderweb, was prepared in secret over 18 months. Ukraine's agents moved short-range drones and explosives inside Russia before they were launched remotely for a coordinated strike on Sunday that was intended to destroy Moscow's air superiority. Here is a visual guide to Operation Spiderweb: Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said drones were smuggled into Russia and placed inside containers, which were later loaded on to trucks. With the trucks positioned near Russian bases, the roof panels of the containers were lifted off by a remotely activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack. The drones were first-person view, or FPV, which allowed them to be operated remotely, probably from Ukrainian territory. Attempting to launch drones from Ukraine would have been much harder, as they would have had to cover huge distances and avoid Russia's air defences. A photograph from Ukrainian security officials showed the containers, which were disguised as wooden sheds. Another image showed the containers with their retractable roofs removed, and dozens of small quadcopter drones hidden inside among the beams. Social media footage shared by Russian media appeared to show the drones rising from containers. Ukraine's SBU said the strikes damaged 41 planes used against Ukraine, though the full extent of the damage remained unclear. Among those it claimed to have hit were A-50 surveillance planes, the supersonic Tu-160 and Tu-22 bombers, and the massive Tu-95s, which were developed to carry nuclear bombs and now launch cruise missiles. The SBU said it had hit planes worth a combined $7bn (£5.2bn) at four airbases in the wave of drone strikes. It said the attack struck Belaya airbase in Irkutsk, which is more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine. Other targets included the Olenya airbase in Murmansk, Dyagilevo airbase in Ryazan and Ivanovo Severny airbase in Ivanovo. The Russian defence ministry confirmed that several of its military aircraft 'caught fire' in the attack in the regions of Murmansk and Irkutsk. It added that there were no casualties and that several 'participants' had been arrested. Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has been outgunned by Russia but it has responded by developing a cheap and sizeable fleet of attack drones. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said 117 drones were used in the operation, with a corresponding number of drone operators involved. He claimed 34% of 'the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at airbases were hit'. 'Our people operated across several Russian regions – in three different time zones. And the people who assisted us were withdrawn from Russian territory before the operation, they are now safe,' the president said, without disclosing whether the agents were Ukrainian or Russian.
