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CNN
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Inside Ukraine's audacious drone attack on Russian air bases
Ukraine's drone attack against Russian airfields was audacious and daring. But most of all, it was meticulously planned and flawlessly executed. Kyiv struck where it could make a difference, damaging or destroying military aircraft that Moscow has been using to terrorize Ukrainian civilians with near daily aerial attacks. The Ukrainian Security Service said 41 Russian aircraft were hit, including strategic bombers and surveillance planes, although it is unclear how many were taken completely out of action. Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said the attack was 'a stunning success for Ukraine's special services.' 'If even half the total claim of 41 aircraft damaged/destroyed is confirmed, it will have a significant impact on the capacity of the Russian Long Range Aviation force to keep up its regular large-scale cruise missile salvos against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, whilst also maintaining their nuclear deterrence and signaling patrols against NATO and Japan,' he wrote in a note. This is what we know about how the attack unfolded. The attacks targeted four airfields deep inside Russia, with the farthest one, the Belaya base in Irkutsk region, some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia. The other targets included the Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine; the Diaghilev airbase in Ryazan Oblast, some 520 kilometers (320 miles) from Ukraine; and the Ivanovo air base, which is a base for Russian military transport aircraft, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the border. A visual shared by the SBU, Ukraine's security agency, also showed another base in the eastern Amur region as a target. It is not clear whether an attack on this base failed or was aborted. It's these huge distances from the border with Ukraine that likely made Russia complacent about protecting the sites. Its most prized aircraft at the Belaya base were regularly parked in plain sight in the airfield, clearly visible in publicly available satellite images – including on Google Maps. Moscow likely believed the distance itself was enough to keep the aircraft safe from Ukrainian attacks. Russia maintains air superiority over Ukraine and while Kyiv's allies have supplied Ukraine with some long-range missile systems, including US-made ATACMS and British-French Storm Shadows, neither has the range to strike this deep inside Russia. Ukraine has been using drones against targets inside Russia, including in Moscow, but the low speed at which they travel makes them relatively easy for Russian air defenses to strike them. This is where the audacity of the attack really played out: rather than trying to fly the drones all the way from the border, Ukraine managed to smuggle them right next to the sites it wanted to target and launched them from there. Russia's radar and air defenses at these bases were not prepared for such a low-altitude and sudden attack. The only effective way to stop an attack like this is with heavy machine guns. Russia has been using these against Ukrainian sea drones in the Black Sea. But these were either not available or not deployed quickly enough at the air bases targeted by Ukraine on Sunday – most likely because Russia simply didn't foresee this type of attack. CNN was able to verify and geolocated photos and videos from the scenes, confirming their locations near the bases. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that the attacks – which it called 'terror attacks' were launched from the vicinity of the airfields. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the operation. According to the SBU, the drones were smuggled into Russia by its operatives. At some point, likely while already in Russia, the drones were then hidden inside mobile wooden sheds. Photos obtained by CNN show the drones tucked just under the sheds' metal roofs, slotted in insulation cavities. These wooden cabins were then placed on trucks and driven to locations near the bases. Ukraine did not disclose how exactly it managed to get the vehicles into the vicinity of high-profile military targets without detection, but reports in Russian media suggested it was relatively simple. Baza and Astra, two Russian Telegram channels, both reported that the trucks were bought by a Ukrainian man who lived in Russia who then simply paid a quartet of drivers to get them where he needed them. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian authorities commented on these reports, but the Russian state news agency RIA reported that authorities in the Irkutsk region were searching for a man who was suspected of being involved in the attack. His name matched the name reported by Baza and Astra. The Ukrainian Security Service said the operatives involved in the operation were safely back in Ukraine by the time the attacks started. Zelensky said they worked across multiple Russian regions spanning three time zones. A senior source with Ukraine's drone development program told CNN the pilots who flew the drones were probably nowhere near the locations from which they were launched. 'They would have likely setup an internet hub allowing the pilots to (control them) remotely, each rapidly deploying each FPV (first person view drones), hitting each target one by one.' The source said the communication hub could be 'a simple Russian cell phone' which is harder to track than other systems, such as Starlink that is used widely in Ukraine. A source briefed on the matter confirmed the attack was carried out via Russian telecommunications networks. Once the trucks were in place and the drones ready to go, the cabin roofs opened and the drones flew towards their targets. A video of the attack in Russia's southeastern Irkutsk region that was shared on social media and verified and geolocated by CNN shows two drones flying out of a truck. They are seen heading towards the Belaya air base in the distance, where thick dark smoke is already billowing from a previous strike. Another video from the same location shows the truck used to transport the drones on fire after what appears to be an explosion designed to self-destruct the truck. Zelensky said on Sunday that the attack was in the making for one year, six months and nine days, and praised the security services for a 'brilliant' operation. Russian officials have downplayed the attack, saying strikes were repelled in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions but that 'several pieces of aircraft' caught fire after attacks in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions. It added that the fires had since been extinguished. It said there were no casualties. But while Russian authorities tried to downplay the attack, several high-profile Russian military bloggers have been vocal in their criticism. Rybar, a high-profile Russian military blog, said the attack caused a 'tragic loss for the entire Russian air fleet' and was a result of 'criminal negligence.' The SBU said the strikes caused an estimated $7 billion in damages and hit 34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers at its main air bases – a claim CNN cannot independently verify. Ukraine said it destroyed several TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 surveillance planes. A source briefed on the matter said 27 Tu-95, four Tu-160, two Tu-22M3 and 'probably' an A-50 were hit. The Tu-22M3 is Russia's long-range missile strike platform that can perform stand-off attacks, launching missiles from Russian airspace well behind the front lines to stay out of range of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire. Russia had 55 Tu-22M3 jets and 57 Tu-95s in its fleet at the beginning of the year, according to the 'Military Balance 2025' report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. The Tu-95 joined the Soviet Union air force in the 1950s, and Russia has modified them to launch cruise missiles like the Tu-22. Bronk, the RUSI expert, said that replacing some of these aircraft would be very difficult for Russia because they have not been produced for decades. CNN's Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine bombs Russian bases: Here are some of Kyiv's most audacious attacks
Ukrainian drones struck multiple military airbases deep inside Russia on Sunday in a major operation a day before peace talks scheduled to start in Istanbul. The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukraine had launched drone strikes targeting Russian military airfields across five regions, causing several aircraft to catch fire. The attacks occurred in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. Air defences repelled the assaults in all but two regions – Murmansk and Irkutsk, the ministry said. 'In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire,' the Defence Ministry said. FPV drones are unmanned aerial vehicles with cameras on the front that relay live footage to operators, who in turn use those visuals to direct the drones. The fires were extinguished, and no casualties were reported. Some individuals involved in the attacks had been detained, the Russian Defence Ministry said. On Sunday night, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the 'absolutely brilliant' Ukrainian drone attack on the Telegram messaging app. But the Sunday attacks were only the latest in a series of audacious hits on Russian military facilities, territory and symbols of power over the past three years of war — often acknowledged by Kyiv, and in some cases widely believed to have been carried out by Ukrainian special forces. Zelenskyy said 117 drones had been used to attack the Russian bases on Sunday. 'Russia has had very tangible losses, and justifiably so,' he said. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it had hit Russian military planes worth a combined $7bn in a wave of drone strikes on Russian air bases thousands of kilometres behind the front line. Targets included the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk, about 4,300km (2,670 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and the Olenya airbase in south Murmansk, some 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Ukraine. Earlier on Sunday, multiple local media reports in Ukraine claimed that the operation was carried out by the SBU using drones smuggled deep into Russia and hidden inside trucks. At least 41 Russian heavy bombers at four airbases were hit, the reports said. The strikes reportedly hit Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian cities. Russia is yet to confirm the extent of the damage, but the attack could mark Ukraine's most damaging drone strike of the war to date. Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Kyiv, said it's 'an audacious strike, one that Ukraine has been waiting a long time and patiently to deliver, and it's come after Russian air strikes into Ukraine have dramatically accelerated over the past couple of weeks'. Both Russia and Ukraine have sharply ramped up their drone attacks against the other side in recent days. Russia launched more than 900 kamikaze drones and 92 missiles last week, killing at least 16 civilians. Those attacks followed days of Ukrainian strikes on Russian military infrastructure in Russia's Tula, Alabuga and Tatarstan regions, in which Kyiv used at least 800 drones. Meanwhile, Ukraine confirmed that it will send a delegation to Istanbul led by its Defence Minister Rustem Umerov for talks on Monday with Russian officials. A previous round of talks, on May 16, led to a deal under which Ukraine and Russia exchanged 1,000 prisoners of war each, before any goodwill from that agreement evaporated amid the aerial warfare that subsequently intensified. Zelenskyy, who has previously voiced scepticism about Russia's seriousness about peace talks, said that the Ukrainian delegation would enter the meeting in Istanbul with specific priorities, including 'a complete and unconditional ceasefire' and the return of prisoners and abducted children. Russia has said it has formulated its own peace terms and ruled out a Turkish proposal for the meeting to be held at the leaders' level. Monday's meeting in Turkiye has been spurred by US President Donald Trump's push for a quick deal to end the three-year war. But no breakthrough appears to be in sight. In a rare display of criticism, Trump recently vented his frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'Something has happened to him,' Trump wrote on his social media platform on May 25, referring to Putin. 'He has gone absolutely CRAZY!' Trump told reporters, 'We're in the middle of talking and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities.' The US president is yet to react to Sunday's Ukrainian attacks on Russian airbases. The strikes are the latest in a series of stunning, headline-grabbing attacks that Russia has periodically suffered since it launched the full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May 2018, four years after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, Putin drove a truck across a newly built bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the peninsula, enraging Ukrainians. Ukraine would take its revenge, first in 2022 and then again in 2023. In October 2022, a truck explosion that Russia blamed on Ukraine blew up a part of the bridge. Russia repaired the damage, and Putin tried to revive the symbolism of 2018, again driving across it, this time in a Mercedes. But Ukraine would strike again. In July 2023, the bridge that serves as a crucial supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine was blown up. Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee said the strike was carried out by two Ukrainian sea drones. Officials said two people were killed and a child was wounded. In September 2023, Ukraine launched a series of attacks on occupied Crimea, using drones and missiles to target key facilities of Russia's Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol. Satellite images showed that the first attack destroyed half of the Black Sea Fleet's communications command centre in Verkhnosadove. Ukraine followed up on that attack with a strike against the Saky airfield in Crimea, which was hosting 12 Russian combat aircraft, including Su-24 and Su-30 fighter-bombers, according to the Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne. Then came the most devastating of the attacks, on September 22. Ukraine hit the Black Sea Fleet command headquarters and claimed to have killed 34 officers, including fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov. A further 105 soldiers were reportedly wounded. In the dead of night in early May 2023, the ultimate symbol of Russian power for centuries — the Kremlin — came under attack, as flashes of light from small explosions over the red building's citadel were seen in images and grainy video around the world. Moscow said that two Ukrainian drones had been used in the attack on Putin's residence, but had been disabled by electronic defences. 'We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president's life, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned,' the Kremlin said in a statement. Zelenskyy denied that his country had attacked the Russian capital or its president. 'We don't attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory,' Zelenskyy told a news conference in Helsinki, Finland. But independent analysts, including from Western nations that are Ukrainian allies, believe Ukrainian special forces were behind the drone attacks on the Kremlin. And a year later, Ukraine would blur the line between its territory and Russian land in the escalating war between the neighbours. Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on the Kursk region on August 6, 2024, taking Moscow by surprise. Russia began evacuating the neighbouring Belgorod region as the country's forces were forced to confront Ukraine's offensive in Western Russia. At the height of the incursion, Ukrainian forces claimed nearly 1,400 square kilometres (540 square miles) of Kursk — roughly twice the size of Singapore. By the start of 2025, Russia had most of the territory it lost in Kursk before Ukraine launched a second wave of attacks in January. However, Kyiv suffered a major setback earlier this year after Trump temporarily cut off all military and intelligence assistance. By early March, Russia had recaptured most of the territory.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Ukraine conducts ‘large-scale' operation targeting Russian airbases, security source says
By Svitlana Vlasova, Victoria Butenko and Tim Lister , CNN Smoke rises in Russia's Irkutsk region following a reported Ukrainian drone attack on a nearby airbase, in this still image from a video published on Sunday (Ukraine time). Photo: CNN / Governor of Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev/ Handout via Reuters Ukraine has carried out large-scale drone strikes against a number of airbases deep inside Russia, destroying multiple combat planes, according to a source in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). The attacks are the most ambitious simultaneous strikes on Russian airbases carried out by Ukraine since the war began. The SBU source said that Russian bombers were "burning en masse" at four airbases hundreds of miles apart, adding that drones had been launched from trucks inside Russia. More than 40 aircraft were known to have been hit, according to the source, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 surveillance planes. The airfields targeted included Belaya in Irkutsk, some 4500km from Ukraine's border with Russia, and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan in western Russia, about 520km from Ukraine, which is a training centre for Russia's strategic bomber force. The Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, more than 2000km from Ukraine, was also struck, according to the source, as well as the Ivanovo airbase, more than 800km from Ukraine. Ivanovo is a base for Russian military transport aircraft. Emergency service workers at the scene of a bridge collapse in Russia's Bryansk region on Sunday. The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed Ukraine had targeted Russian airfields across five regions on Sunday, calling the drone strikes "terrorist attacks." The ministry said strikes were repelled in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions but that "several pieces of aircraft" caught fire after attacks in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions. It added that the fires had since been extinguished. There were no casualties as a result of the attacks, the ministry continued, adding that "some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained". The governor of Irkutsk region, Igor Kobziev, said that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya base. Kobziev said on Telegram that the exact number of drones deployed had not been determined. Emergency and security services were at the site, he added. SBU drones were targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night, the SBU source said - estimating the damage caused to the Russian side at more than US$2 billion (NZ$3.3b). One video supplied by the source purportedly shows the Belaya airfield in flames and the voice of the head of the SBU, Lt Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, commenting on the situation. "How beautiful Belaya airfield looks now. Enemy's strategic aircraft," he says. CNN was able to confirm the location of that video, as well as two others posted on social media showing smoke rising from the Belaya airbase. It was not immediately able to independently verify other videos provided by the SBU. The SBU source said that the operation was "extremely complicated from a logistical point of view," with the drones carried inside wooden mobile homes that had been carried into Russia on trucks. "The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers." One video purportedly of one attack appears to show drones rising from a truck, as vehicles pass on a nearby highway. Another image shows the roof of the truck on the ground. The source added that people involved were already back in Ukraine. CNN's Frankie Vetch, Eve Brennan and Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report. - CNN
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ukraine conducts ‘large-scale' operation targeting Russian airbases, security source says
Ukraine has carried out large-scale drone strikes against four airbases deep inside Russia, destroying multiple combat planes, according to a source in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). If confirmed, the attacks would be the most ambitious simultaneous strikes on Russian airbases carried out by Ukraine since the war began. The SBU source said that Russian bombers were 'burning en masse' at four airbases hundreds of miles apart, adding that drones had been launched from trucks inside Russia. More than 40 aircraft were known to have been hit, according to the source, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 surveillance planes. The airfields targeted included Belaya in Irkutsk, some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia, and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan in western Russia, about 520 kilometers (320 miles) from Ukraine, which is a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force. The Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine, was also struck, according to the source, as well as the Ivanovo airbase, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine. Ivanovo is a base for Russian military transport aircraft. There has been no comment from the Russian Defense Ministry on the attacks. But the governor of Irkutsk region, Igor Kobziev, said that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya base. Kobziev said on Telegram that the exact number of drones deployed had not been determined. Emergency and security services were at the site, he added. SBU drones were targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night, the SBU source said – estimating the damage caused to the Russian side at more than $2 billion. One video supplied by the source purportedly shows the Belaya airfield in flames and the voice of the head of the SBU, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, commenting on the situation. 'How beautiful Belaya airfield looks now. Enemy's strategic aircraft,' he says. CNN was able to confirm the location of that video, as well as two others posted on social media showing smoke rising from the Belaya airbase. It was not immediately able to independently verify other videos provided by the SBU. The SBU source said that the operation was 'extremely complicated from a logistical point of view,' with the drones carried inside wooden mobile homes that had been carried into Russia on board trucks. 'The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.' One video purportedly of one attack appears to show drones rising from a truck, as vehicles pass on a nearby highway. Another image shows the roof of the truck on the ground. The source added that people involved were already back in Ukraine. CNN's Frankie Vetch and Eve Brennan contributed to this report.
CNN
3 days ago
- General
- CNN
Ukraine conducts ‘large-scale' operation targeting Russian airbases, security source says
Ukraine has carried out large-scale drone strikes against four airbases deep inside Russia, destroying multiple combat planes, according to a source in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). If confirmed, the attacks would be the most ambitious simultaneous strikes on Russian airbases carried out by Ukraine since the war began. The SBU source said that Russian bombers were 'burning en masse' at four airbases hundreds of miles apart, adding that drones had been launched from trucks inside Russia. More than 40 aircraft were known to have been hit, according to the source, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 surveillance planes. The airfields targeted included Belaya in Irkutsk, some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia, and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan in western Russia, about 520 kilometers (320 miles) from Ukraine, which is a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force. The Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine, was also struck, according to the source, as well as the Ivanovo airbase, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine. Ivanovo is a base for Russian military transport aircraft. There has been no comment from the Russian Defense Ministry on the attacks. But the governor of Irkutsk region, Igor Kobziev, said that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya base. Kobziev said on Telegram that the exact number of drones deployed had not been determined. Emergency and security services were at the site, he added. SBU drones were targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night, the SBU source said – estimating the damage caused to the Russian side at more than $2 billion. One video supplied by the source purportedly shows the Belaya airfield in flames and the voice of the head of the SBU, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, commenting on the situation. 'How beautiful Belaya airfield looks now. Enemy's strategic aircraft,' he says. CNN was able to confirm the location of that video, as well as two others posted on social media showing smoke rising from the Belaya airbase. It was not immediately able to independently verify other videos provided by the SBU. The SBU source said that the operation was 'extremely complicated from a logistical point of view,' with the drones carried inside wooden mobile homes that had been carried into Russia on board trucks. 'The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.' One video purportedly of one attack appears to show drones rising from a truck, as vehicles pass on a nearby highway. Another image shows the roof of the truck on the ground. The source added that people involved were already back in Ukraine. CNN's Frankie Vetch and Eve Brennan contributed to this report.
