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Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
As the Ukrainians give a masterclass in modern war, our Government rehashes old plans
On Sunday one of the most successful attacks so far on Russia by Ukraine took place. Thousands of miles from the front line a trucks pulled up for what the drivers believed were innocent rendezvous with customers. Not long after the trucks stopped the roofs of the trailers slid open and swarms of small drones took off to attack nearby Russian strategic bomber bases. Within minutes these little drones, that cost no more than a few hundred dollars each, had obliterated $7bn dollars worth of aircraft. Five bases were hit, one of them over 6,000 miles away from Kyiv. By the end of the day 30 per cent of Russia's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed. These same aircraft had until recently been bombing civilian areas in Ukraine from safely out of reach of the Ukrainian military – or so Russia thought. These bombers – mostly Russian Tu-95 Bears and Tu-22 Backfires – are also a key part of Russia's nuclear strike force. We should rejoice that these aircraft were hit. We should salute the bravery and ingenuity of Ukraine's SBU – its secret service. I'd bet that the whole operation was done without foreign (including US) assistance. It didn't use western equipment: no Himars, Storm Shadow or ATACMS. It was arguably one of the most important and successful strikes of the war. No country can suffer such a strategic loss and not be knocked backwards. I learnt long before the war never to underestimate the Ukrainians. The Russians didn't learn and they are rightly paying for it. It is ironic that on the same day as this innovative strike the Labour Government was trumpeting (well actually re-announcing to be honest) billions of pounds of submarines to be delivered in the 2040-2050s. The threat is the here and now. The next decade will be the most challenging of our generation. Now is the time to re-arm. But that isn't going to happen under Rachel Reeves. Yesterday's Strategic Defence Review was only part one of a three-part plan by this Government to modernise defence. We have waited nearly a year for what was originally billed as a big reset, designed to re-establish Labour's defence credentials after the disaster that was Jeremy Corbyn. It was also supposed to answer Nato and US demands for the UK to up our game on securing Europe. And it was supposed to embrace further the lessons of Ukraine. But despite numerous statements from Keir Starmer and John Healey that we are in a very dangerous world and we need to face down the threat, the Secretary of State failed to get the money he needed from the Treasury. And it shows. Spin has replaced substance. In a sad attempt to paper over the fact he didn't get what he asked for John Healey and his team have had to resort to re-announcing programmes and capabilities put in place by the last Conservative Government. I had to pinch myself as announcement after announcement simply rehashed what was already being done. The Complex weapons announcement, cyber, the nuclear warhead program, integrated targeting – all were part of the last defence review refresh. And in some desperate effort to try and persuade the US that we really are serious the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would build four more submarines than already planned – in the late 2040s! Even Putin will be dead by then. It's hardly a message destined to strike fear into anyone's heart. From the start this review has had a huge flaw. I am sure Labour thought it was a clever wheeze to outsource it to two respected but out of date individuals but it alienated the serving Chiefs of the armed forces and robbed the review of the most up to date knowledge of the new way of warfare. At times the review seemed to be a battle between the retired and the serving. If you haven't been involved in Ukraine, you simply cannot grasp the depth of the threat and reforms required. Add to that constant interfering by the Treasury and you get a review that is devoid of answers or even money to fund the here and now. Take for example the 'Nato first pledge' – it sounds good but we have tumbled to 9 th in the Nato funding tables. As many of us suspected this review was all about buying time for Rachel Reeves and still Labour are stalling on the decisions needed. The review itself has some good things in it – but it also lacks detail whenever a spending commitment is made, with an obvious example being UK air defence. If at the outset of this review the team had been given a proper year-by-year spending profile climbing to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 then it would have, I am sure, been more specific and more bold. In the end we can all argue over defence equipment. Are tanks are better than drones? Are aircraft carriers necessary in today's world? Each Secretary of State will have their own priorities informed by the serving personnel of the day. But in the end the only thing that matters to the men and women of the Armed forces is whether the Secretary of State fought their corner and got the funds to protect them and equip them, and that whatever ambition the Government has for defence it is properly funded, not hollow. Sadly, despite the spin it didn't happen. Maybe Donald Trump will do John Healey's job for him at the Nato summit this month and insist on 3 per cent by 2030. Trump to the rescue? Not something you usually hear from me!
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine launches major drone attack on Russian bombers, security official says
Ukraine has launched a 'large-scale' drone attack against Russian military bombers in Siberia, striking more than 40 warplanes thousands of miles from its own territory, a security official has said, after it smuggled the drones to the perimeter of the airfields hidden in the roofs of wooden sheds. On the eve of peace talks, the drone attack on four separate airfields was part of a sharp ramping up of the three-year war, with Russia launching waves of drones at Ukraine, while Moscow said sabotage was to blame for two train derailments that left seven people dead. Video from several military airfields across Russia showed destroyed aircraft and planes engulfed in flames, though the full extent of the damage remained unclear. Among the more than 40 aircraft reportedly hit were Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian cities. Ukraine's SBU domestic intelligence agency said it had hit Russian military planes worth a combined $7bn (£5.2bn) in the wave of drone strikes. If the extent of the damage is confirmed, the attack would mark Ukraine's most damaging drone strike of the war to date, amid an escalation in cross-border incursions before a new round of direct negotiations in Istanbul on Monday. A Ukrainian official provided video footage to media reportedly showing the strikes, in which Reuters said several large aircraft that appeared to be Tu-95 bombers were on fire. The Tu-95 was originally developed to carry nuclear bombs and now launches cruise missiles. Several Russian and Ukrainian media outlets reported that Ukraine carried out the operation by launching drones from lorries parked near military airfields deep inside Russia. Ukrainian officials told the media that the operation – codename 'Spiderweb' – had been in preparation for more than 18 months. The drones were first smuggled into Russia and later concealed under the roofs of small wooden sheds which were loaded on to trucks and driven to the perimeter of the airbases. The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, the official said. Media reports said Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had personally overseen the sophisticated operation. On Sunday evening he thanked everyone involved, adding: 'We had been preparing the operation for more than a year and a half. Planning, organisation, all the details were perfectly prepared. I can say for sure that this is a completely unique operation.' He said that the office of Ukraine's operation in Russia had been located 'right next to the FSB office in one of (Russia's) regions'. 'In total, 117 drones were used in the operation. And a corresponding number of drone operators were working,' he said. 'Thirty-four per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers at the airfields were hit. Our people were operating in different Russian regions – in three time zones. And our people were withdrawn from the territory of Russia on the eve of the operation, and now they are safe – those who helped us.' Photographs from Ukrainian security officials showed dozens of short-range quadcopter drones piled up in an industrial facility. Other images showed the wooden sheds with their metal roofing panels removed, and the drones sitting in the cavities between roof beams. A separate video posted on Russian Telegram channels appeared to show matching sheds on the back of a truck with the roof panels lying on the ground and at least two drones rising out of the top of the sheds and flying off. Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russia's security services, published footage that appeared to show men in Siberia's Irkutsk region climbing on to one of the lorries in an attempt to prevent drones from launching. In one clip, filmed at the burning airbase in Olenegorsk in the Murmansk region, a Russian service person is heard saying: 'It's fucked here,' as several bombers burn in the background. Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has been chronically outgunned by Russia in terms of military firepower. But it has developed a nimble and sizeable fleet of attack drones used to strike Russia's army and energy infrastructure. The Belaya airbase targeted on Sunday in Irkutsk oblast is more than 2,500 miles (4,000km) from Ukraine. 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. In March, Ukraine said it had developed a new drone with a range of 3,000km, without providing further details. Earlier on Sunday, Russian investigators said they believed 'explosions' had caused two bridges in the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk to collapse overnight, derailing trains and killing at least seven people and injuring dozens. No one has claimed responsibility. Russian investigators were investigating the bridge blasts as 'acts of terrorism', according to state media. The Kremlin said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had been briefed throughout the night. Separately, tracks on the Unecha-Zhecha section of railway in Russia's Bryansk region were damaged without casualties, the national operator, Russian Railways, said. Russia has been hit by dozens of sabotage attacks since Moscow launched its offensive against Ukraine in 2022, many targeting its vast railway network. Kyiv says railways are targeted because they transport troops and weaponry. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 472 drones overnight, the highest nightly total of the war so far, as well as seven missiles. 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. Ukraine had previously refused to commit to attending a new round of direct talks in Turkey but on Sunday Zelenskyy said a delegation led by his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, would be in Istanbul. 'I have also defined our position before the Monday meeting in Istanbul,' which includes priorities to reach 'a complete and unconditional ceasefire' and the return of prisoners and abducted children, Zelenskyy said on social media. The US president, Donald Trump, has put pressure on both sides to end the war and threatened to walk away if they do not, potentially leaving Kyiv entirely dependent on European aid. Reuters reported Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul would present a proposed plan for reaching a lasting peace settlement, with the current frontline as the starting point for negotiations about territory. Citing a copy of the document laying out the Ukrainian position, it said there would be no future restrictions on Ukraine's military strength, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine. Last year, Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war, demanding Ukraine drop its Nato membership ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from all four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Footage shows major Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers
Ukraine conducted a 'large-scale' drone attack on Russian military aircraft on Sunday, striking more than 40 warplanes thousands of kilometres from its own territory, a security official said. The claims could not be independently verified. But if confirmed, the attacks in Siberia would mark Ukraine's most damaging drone strike of the war to date, amid an escalation in cross-border incursions before planned peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. Among the aircraft reportedly hit were Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian cities
