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Russia confirms Ukraine targeted 5 airbases with FPV drones; most attacks repelled
Ukraine claimed it had destroyed around 40 Russian aircraft, including nuclear-capable Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers.
Russian defence ministry on Sunday confirmed that five air bases were targeted in drone attacks carried out by Ukraine, resulting in damage to an unspecified number of aircraft.
Ukraine, meanwhile, claimed it had destroyed around 40 Russian aircraft, including nuclear-capable Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, in the large-scale drone strikes launched on Russian bases.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the operation was meticulously planned over 11 months by the country’s Security Service (SBU).
SBU security service also claimed that it had targeted Russian military aircraft valued at a total of $7 billion in a series of drone strikes on air bases located deep inside Russian territory.
“Today, the Kyiv regime staged a terror attack with the use of FPV drones on airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions. All terror attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions were repelled,”
“No casualties were reported either among servicemen or civilians. Some of those involved in the terror attacks were detained,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine hits deep Russian bases in Murmansk, Irkutsk for first time
Breaking new ground in its drone warfare strategy, Ukraine has for the first time targeted deep Russian air bases Olenogorsk in the Murmansk region and Sredny in Siberia’s Irkutsk region by deploying drones from close proximity using trailer trucks, according to emerging reports.
“As a result of the launch of FPV drones from territories in the close proximity to military airfields in the Murmansk and Irkutsk Regions, several aircraft caught fire. The fires were extinguished,” the Russian MoD said.
Observers suggest that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is attempting to ramp up pressure on Moscow ahead of the second round of peace talks scheduled for Monday in Istanbul.
The Russian delegation, led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medynsky, has already arrived in Turkey for the negotiations.
Despite this diplomatic push, experts remain sceptical about the prospects of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
With AP inputs
