Ukrainian security services conducted a massive drone attack against Russian military airbases on Sunday, striking thousands of kilometres from the front line in what President Volodymyr Zelensky said was their longest-range operation ever,
France 24 reports.
The operation, code-named “Spider’s web”, required months of preparation and the smuggling of drones into Russian territory.
Here is what we know about the attacks, which occurred on the eve of talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine to explore the prospects for a ceasefire.
Ukraine has claimed significant damage but for now it is impossible to verify independently.
A source in Ukraine’s SBU security service said the coordinated attacks hit 41 aircraft used to “bomb Ukrainian cities”, citing the Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers and the A-50 radar detection and command aircraft.
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed that “several aircraft caught fire” following a drone attack at bases in the regions of Murmansk and Irkutsk, located in the Russian Arctic and eastern Siberia.
The fires were contained, the ministry said, and caused no casualties, adding that suspects had been “arrested”.
Ukrainian security services said they destroyed 34 percent of Russian strategic bombers carrying cruise missiles, claiming to have inflicted damages amounting to $7 billion.
