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Newsweek
2 hours ago
- General
- Newsweek
Before-and-After Satellite Images Reveal Russian 'Pearl Harbor' Devastation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newly available satellite imagery reveals the devastating aftermath of Ukraine's long-range drone strike on multiple Russian airbases in what pro-Moscow bloggers are calling "Russia's Pearl Harbor." The operation, codenamed "Operation Spiderweb," saw the deployment of 117 drones that targeted at least four strategic sites deep inside Russian territory. The drones were smuggled across the border, placed in wooden containers with removable roofs fixed on trucks. The Belaya air base in Irkutsk Oblast, more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine's border, bore the brunt of the assault. Ukrainian intelligence reported the destruction of at least 13 aircraft across all targeted sites. Satellite images provided to Newsweek from Maxar Technologies shows rows of strategic bombers reduced to scorched wreckage. A wide-angle before-and-after image of Belaya air base shows intact bomber aircraft in revetments replaced by charred remains and blackened craters. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) stated that the drone barrage disabled 34 percent of Russia's cruise missile bomber fleet and inflicted an estimated $7 billion in damage. Among the aircraft confirmed destroyed at Belaya were at least three Tu-95MS bombers and one Tu-22M3 aircraft. Others were damaged but not obliterated, according to Ukrainian officials. A close-up image shows a cluster of Tu-95MS bombers with visible fire damage and blast debris surrounding their parking spots. Satellite images that captured the damage at multiple airfields show previously pristine runways now marked by burn scars and aircraft fragments. A detailed damage shot captures melted fuselage sections, crumpled wings, and residual fire damage across the concrete apron. Blast Zone and Aircraft Wreckage in the Belaya Air Base. Blast Zone and Aircraft Wreckage in the Belaya Air Base. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES Russia's Ministry of Defense admitted that aircraft caught fire at multiple sites but framed the strikes as "terrorist attacks" by the Kyiv regime. In a statement to Tass, the ministry said some drones were intercepted and added that several perpetrators had been detained. It denied any casualties among servicemen or civilians. Other airbases targeted included Olenya in Murmansk Oblast and Diaghilev in Ryazan Oblast. The Kyiv Independent cited Ukrainian sources who said the drones were smuggled into Russia in trucks outfitted with wooden cabins and deployed from beneath removable roofs. Wreckage of two Russian bombers at the Olenya base. Wreckage of two Russian bombers at the Olenya base. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted that the operation "will likely force Moscow to reconfigure its air defenses," possibly expanding coverage and introducing mobile air defense groups to counter future drone threats. Open-source analysis has suggested one A-50 spy plane was damaged or destroyed at Ivanovo air base, as well as four Tu-95 aircraft and three Tu-22M3 bombers at the Belaya air base, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Monday. Satellite imagery showing two Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft with tires and debris on the wings at the Ivanovo air base, Russia, on May 3, 2025. Satellite imagery showing two Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft with tires and debris on the wings at the Ivanovo air base, Russia, on May 3, 2025. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies The drone strikes came on the eve of fresh rounds of face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey. Initial discussions last month produced the largest prisoner swap of the war but little shuffling toward a peace deal that U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to broker.
Japan Today
7 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
China's most advanced bombers seen on disputed South China Sea island
A KJ-500 early warning plane along with Y-20 transport aircraft are parked on the tarmac of an airfield on Woody Island, in the disputed Paracel archipelago, which is known in China as Xisha Islands, South China Sea, May 19, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS By Greg Torode Satellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month - a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing's latest signaling of its growing military capabilities to rivals. The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody Island in the Paracels since 2020, and the movement of the now upgraded aircraft comes amid tensions with the Philippines, operations near Taiwan and ahead of the region's biggest defense forum this weekend. "China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing - against the Philippines and against the U.S. and other things that are going on," said Collin Koh, a defence scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to open the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore with a speech on Friday while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will outline the Trump administration's approach to the region on Saturday. A British aircraft carrier is expected in the South China Sea on a rare deployment next month, diplomats captured two H-6 planes flying over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal, also in the South China Sea, just ahead of Hegseth's visit to the Philippines in late March, when he reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to its treaty ally. Regional diplomats and analysts say deployments of the jet-powered H-6 are closely scrutinised, given the way its Cold War-era airframe has been modernised to carry anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles, while some of the planes are capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. A potential threat to U.S. bases in the region, H-6 bombers were deployed in wargames around Taiwan in October, and in July flew close to the U.S. mainland for the first time. Neither China's defence ministry nor the Philippines' maritime and national security council immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. China's occupation of the Paracels is disputed by Vietnam, whose foreign ministry also did not immediately respond for comment. SOVIET DESIGN Echoing the development of the U.S. B-52, the basic H-6 dates back to 1950s Soviet designs but it remains China's most advanced long-range bomber having been re-fitted with improved engines and modern flight systems along with its state-of-the-art weaponry. Images provided to Reuters by Maxar Technologies show two H-6 bombers on a runway on Woody Island on May 19. Another Maxar image on the same date show two Y-20 transport aircraft and an KJ-500 early warning plane - an aircraft that is seen as vital to China being able to control and secure increasingly complex air and sea operations. Some analysts said the planes may have first arrived on May 17 and been present until May 23. Ben Lewis, founder of open source data platform PLATracker, said they thought it was unlikely that the H-6s would be deployed long-term on Woody Island or be permanently based there. "The ability to cycle forces through the bases, especially higher level assets like the H-6, provides the PLA with a force protection mechanism," he said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army. China's Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, maintains two regiments of the bombers, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. The bombers are generally kept at heavily fortified bases on the Chinese mainland, where they would have more protection in a conflict from U.S. attacks in conflict scenarios. The U.S. maintains jet fighter wings in Japan, including on its forward deployed aircraft carrier, and on Guam, which is also home to B-52s. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
