Ukraine drones hit 5 Russian airbases; 40+ military aircraft destroyed: Official
KYIV: A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia's territory, a Ukrainian security official said on Sunday, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attack took over 1.5-year to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The official said the operation involved hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds and loading them onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases. The drones reportedly hit 41 planes stationed at several airfields on Sunday afternoon, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft, the official said.
Moscow has previously used Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, while A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defences and guided missiles.
Russia's defence ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, which spanned five airfields: Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur. Several aircraft caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions - 4,000 km from Ukraine - but the other attacks were repelled, the ministry said in a statement, adding that there were no casualties.
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Those details could not be independently verified.
Zelensky names team for talks
The attack came the same day as Zelensky said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday. In a statement on Telegram, Zelensky said that defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. "We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place.
Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.
Russian strike hits army unit
Russia on Sunday launched the biggest number of drones - 472 - on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in Feb 2022, Ukraine's air force said. Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the air force.
Earlier Sunday, Ukraine's army said at least 12 Ukrainian service members were killed and more than 60 were injured in a Russian missile strike on an army training unit.
The strike occurred at 12.50pm, the statement said, emphasising that no formations or mass gatherings of personnel were being held at the time. Ukrainian army commander Mykhailo Drapatyi later on Sunday submitted his resignation following the attack.
The training unit was located to the rear of the 1,000-km active front line, where Russian reconnaissance and strike drones are able to strike. Ukraine's forces lack troops and take extra precautions to avoid mass gatherings as the skies across the front line are saturated with Russian drones.
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