Latest news with #UkrainianAttack
Arab News
6 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Russia to repair warplanes damaged by Ukraine's drones
MOSCOW: Russian warplanes were damaged but not destroyed in a June 1 attack by Ukraine, and they will be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Ukrainian strikes targeted airfields in Siberia and the far north where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces. The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, two US officials said, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But Ryabkov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, told state news agency TASS: 'The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defense, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored.' It was not immediately clear how swiftly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft – if at all – given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components. Commercial satellite imagery taken after the Ukrainian drone attack shows what experts said appear to be damaged Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Tu-22 Backfire long-range bombers that Russia has used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to the attacks, Trump said. Russia has an estimated fleet of 67 strategic bombers, including 52 Tu-95s, known as Bear-H by NATO, and 15 Tu-160s, known as Blackjacks, of which about 58 are thought to be deployed, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In addition, it has 289 non-strategic fighters and bombers, including Tu-22s, Su-24s, Su-34s and MiG-31s, according to the Bulletin. Russia has given no detail about which aircraft were damaged but said that Ukraine targeted five air bases.
The Sun
03-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Ukraine special ops blast Putin's beloved $1bn Crimean Bridge with bombs ‘planted MONTHS ago' in latest daring attack
UKRAINE has blasted Vladimir Putin's $1billion Crimean Bridge with underwater explosives in another daring attack. The explosion comes just days after Ukraine executed Operation Spiderweb and wiped out Russia's bomber fleet. 1 According to Ukrainian media, the SBU planted the bomb at Putin's beloved bridge months ago. The operation has reportedly caused "significant structural damage". It comes after Ukraine's SAS-style strike against four airfields deep inside Russia - reminiscent of the most daring raids of the WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis. Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw Operation Spiderweb - much like Winston Churchill did as Britain struck deep behind enemy lines. Putin's doomsday bomber fleet is now crippled with 41, or a third, of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks on tarmac. Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia - caused by only 117 cheaply made drones. is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Kyiv's strategic plot leads to destruction of Russia's bomber aircraft
The attack was carried out exactly 29 years to the day after Ukraine handed over dozens of the same strategic bombers to Russia, along with up to 2,000 strategic nuclear warheads and 176 ICBMs in exchange for a promise not to be attacked, under the Budapest Memorandum. In their most daring attack of the war to date, Ukrainian special forces first smuggled 117 first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones – which allow pilots to control them remotely through a live feed – into Russia. Then came mobile wooden cabins, whose roofs had hidden compartments into which the small flying weapons were stashed. They were loaded on to civilian trucks heading into enemy territory, their hired local drivers seemingly unaware of what they were carrying. Finally, yesterday afternoon, with all the lorries within range of five airfields stretching from northern Russia down to Siberia – a safe 2,500 miles from Ukraine – they struck. The roofs of the wooden cabins were opened remotely and the FPV drones took to the skies. With the help of front-positioned cameras, the missile-loaded drones headed straight for Russia's highly expensive bomber planes. Footage showed decimated enemy planes in flames on the runway and last night Ukrainian security sources claimed to have taken out 41 aircraft worth some £1.5billion. These, they say, include the nuclear capable Tu-95 and Tu-22M as well as the surveillance A-50 'Mainstay' plane, worth an estimated £250,000 that is used as a radar and command centre, of which Russia is only believed to have around ten in operation. 'Mainstays' are critical to coordinating Russian fighter jets and air defences, meaning that this will have severely hampered Putin's war effort. Moscow has long stopped producing any of these aircraft meaning, if confirmed, these assets could not be replaced. There are only around 120 Tu-95s and Tu-22Ms in operation and they are vital for Putin 's nightly bombing raids on Ukraine. They had been moved to bases thousands of miles away from Ukraine, out of reach of Western-donated Storm Shadows and ATACMS which have a range of up to 185 miles. The FPVs, which can reach just 12 miles, would have been the last thing on Russian minds. Mr Zelensky last night claimed that the operation took out a third of Russia's strategic bombers and had been conducted under the noses of its secret service. He said: 'What's most interesting, is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions. In total, 117 drones were used in the operation, with a corresponding number of drone operators involved, and 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.' Military blogger Roman Alekhin said the incident will go down as 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' - a reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War. But experts also drew comparisons to the 1942 SAS raid on the Sidi Haneish airfield in Egypy, when elite British commandos put 40 Luftwaffe aircraft out of action using jeeps mounted with machine guns. While the attack wasn't a pivotal moment in the Desert War, it massively boosted British morale and disrupted Axis logistics in North Africa. It was also one of the pivotal events that helped forge the legendary status of the SAS. Former RAF pilot and military analyst Mikey Kay told the BBC : 'The Russians would never have expected something like this. I mean, it's genius, if you think about just the devastating effect that it's had on strategic assets of Putin.' Philip O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University, said the raid was 'the most remarkable and successful operation of the war.' He told The Times: 'This is a big blow to Russian strategic air power, which is hard to overestimate. We do not know what the Russian reaction will be, however we can assume it will be violent.' A Telegram channel called Fighterbomber, widely believed to be run by Captain Ilya Tumanov of the Russian Army, wrote of the attack: 'Today will later be called a black day for Russian long-range aviation. And the day is not over yet.' Mr Zelensky, who is said to have overseen the operation over the last year and a half, celebrated the strike on social media last night. The Ukrainian president wrote: 'A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation.' He added: 'These are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in [the] history books.' A delegation from Kyiv is due to meet counterparts from Moscow for a second round of peace talks in Istanbul today but it was not clear last night if it would still go ahead. Ukraine has said that its proposals will include a full 30-day ceasefire followed by the return of all prisoners held by each side. Negotiators also want some 20,000 Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russia to be repatriated before Mr Zelensky and Putin meet. Russia has so far refused to agree to a 30-day pause in fighting and overnight on Saturday launched its largest strike of the war so far with 472 drones and seven missiles. Kyiv's Operation Spider's Web struck Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region of Siberia; Dyagilevo air base in Ryazan, western Russia; Olenya air base in Murmansk, northern Russia; and Ivanovo air base in Ivanovo, central Russia. The fifth air base was yet to be identified last night. The operation, led by Mr Zelensky and security service boss Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, marks the first time Ukraine has struck targets inside Siberia. Kyiv put the cost of the damage at more than £1.5billion because each A-50 aircraft is valued at around £260million. Last night Russia was arresting the truck drivers, but hours earlier Ukraine had reported that its agents were safely home. FPV drones usually need a pilot within six miles which suggests Ukrainians may have been close to the airfields during the strikes. Hours before the drone strikes a wave of bomb attacks targeted Russian bridges and railway lines in regions bordering Ukraine. Russia declared them 'acts of terrorism' with seven killed and dozens injured when a passenger train travelling to Moscow was derailed by a collapsed bridge in Bryansk on Saturday night. Hours later, in neighbouring Kursk where Ukraine launched its major cross-border incursion last August, a freight train was derailed by another fallen bridge. A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian army training area killed at least 12 soldiers yesterday and wounded more than 60 others, the Ukrainian army said. Kyiv has carried out a series of daring attacks on Russia since the start of the war, with one of first being the counter-offensive which liberated the city of Kherson in November 2022. Ukrainian armed forces also took swathes of territory in Kursk last August in what was the first occupation of Russian land since the Second World War . Putin only succeeded in pushing Ukraine out of the territory in March.
Russia Today
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Over 500 Ukrainian drones shot down in one day
Russian anti-aircraft defenses have repelled a large-scale Ukrainian attack, downing two Western-supplied HIMARS rockets and over 500 drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Wednesday. Five long-range Neptune guided missiles and six JDAM precision-guided aerial bombs were also destroyed. Aerial assaults have increased in the lead-up to a ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled to take effect from midnight on May 7–8 through midnight on May 10–11. Intended as a humanitarian gesture to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, the three-day pause also opens the door to potential 'direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions,' Moscow said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that Russia still plans to offer the 3-day ceasefire. By ramping up drone strikes on Russia, 'the Kiev regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its inclination to terrorist actions,' Peskov said. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has declined to support the proposed ceasefire, calling it a Russian 'attempt at manipulation.' According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's war crimes investigator Rodion Miroshnik, the past week saw a record number of civilian casualties from drone attacks, with 15 people killed and 142 others injured.
