Ukraine launches daring attack, reportedly destroys over 40 Russian bomber planes

Ukraine has reportedly carried out a rare and far-reaching drone assault on Russian military aircraft stationed thousands of kilometres from the front lines, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.

According to pro-Russian bloggers and unverified footage circulating on social media, the Belaya air base in Siberia, located north of Irkutsk, was hit by Ukrainian drones, resulting in fires among long-range Russian bombers designed for nuclear missions.

While the authenticity of the visuals could not be independently confirmed by Reuters, a Ukrainian intelligence source in Kyiv told the news agency that the country’s domestic security service, the SBU, had orchestrated a major drone operation targeting more than 40 Russian aircraft.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the affected fleet included Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers—models that are typically used by Moscow to launch long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian territory.

If confirmed, the scale of the strike would amount to the destruction or damage of aircraft valued at an estimated $2 billion. The same Ukrainian official said the drones struck multiple bases, including Belaya in eastern Siberia, Olenya in the Arctic near Finland, and the Ivanovo and Dyagilevo bases located east of Moscow.

The official described the operation as a coordinated campaign to “destroy enemy bombers far from the front” and revealed that it had been over 18 months in the making, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky directly overseeing the effort.

In Russia, Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev acknowledged that a drone attack had taken place at a military facility near the village of Sredny in the Usolsky district. He stopped short of confirming whether strategic aircraft were involved.

In a video posted to Telegram, Kobzev shared footage of drones buzzing overhead as thick smoke billowed into the sky. He noted that it was the first attack of its kind in the region and said authorities were still determining how many drones were involved. He added that the drones had been launched from a vehicle.

Publicly available military data indicates that the Belaya airbase, also referred to as Sredny, hosts Tu-22M supersonic bombers capable of long-range missions.

Meanwhile, authorities in northern Russia’s Murmansk region also reported a Ukrainian drone strike. The Olenya airbase, known to house strategic aviation assets, is located in that region, according to open-source military information.

(FRANCE 24, Reuters, AFP, AP)