Ukraine strikes Russia in major drone attack
A handout photo made available by the Ukrainian Security Service channel on Telegram on June 1, 2025, shows the head of the Security Service Vasyl Malyuk, studying a photo of a map of Russia's strategic aviation location at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photo by the Ukrainian Security Service/EPA-EFE
June 1 (UPI) -- Ukrainian intelligence officials claimed Sunday to have attacked at least 40 bombers deep inside Russia, which would be the most aggressive such attack on Russian territory since Moscow-led troops invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine targeted "41 strategic Russian aircraft" in an offensive code-named "Spiderweb," NBC News reported, citing a source within the Security Service of Ukraine.
The attack happened at the Belaya air base in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia, almost 3,000 miles from Ukraine, according to video posted by the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday on X that he is "doing everything to protect our independence, our state, our people," and said he was receiving regular updates from his security forces.
The Russian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, posted an emoji on the spiderweb social media tool, which links various messaging and internet applications, referring to the drone strike.
"At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers," the Independent reported of the "Spiderweb" operation, which sources told the paper was a year-and-a-half in the making.
Ukraine announced in March that it had developed a new, more cost-effective drone with a range of nearly 2,000 miles, but did not say when they would go into operation or if these drones were used in the Sunday attack.
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