More than 40 Russian military aircraft were struck in an overnight drone assault deep inside Russian territory, a major covert operation carried out by Ukraine. The operation targeted four Russian airbases: Belaya, Diaghilevo, Olenya and Ivanovo. Ukraine smuggled FPV drones into Russian territory. The drones that attacked targets in the Irkutsk and Murmansk regions were launched from trucks parked along nearby highways. The strikes damaged or destroyed dozens of strategic aircraft used in bombing raids on Ukrainian cities, including long-range Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as an A-50 airborne AWACS aircraft. Videos show explosions and fires across multiple airfields. At one, large fires can be seen raging. The operation was in preparation for more than a year and a half.
More than 40 Russian military aircraft were struck in a sweeping overnight drone assault deep inside Russian territory, in what security sources describe as a major covert operation carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).
Sources within Ukraine’s security services told the Kyiv Post the special operation — codenamed “Web” — targeted four key Russian airbases: Belaya, Diaghilevo, Olenya and Ivanovo.
The strikes damaged or destroyed dozens of strategic aircraft used in daily bombing raids on Ukrainian cities, including long-range Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft.
“This is a turning point,” one SBU source said. “Our drones are now reaching far into the enemy’s rear, where the planes that drop bombs on our civilians take off. Their impunity is over.”
Video footage obtained by Kyiv Post appears to show explosions and fires across multiple airfields. In one clip from Belaya airbase, large fires can be seen raging, and a voice identified by the sources as that of SBU chief Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk is heard referencing the strike as a successful “bavovna” - a Ukrainian euphemism for explosions in Russian-held territory.
Additional video, provided by Kyiv Post’s sources in the security services, appears to show the moment SBU drones strike aircraft parked on the tarmac. Kyiv Post has not independently verified the authenticity of the footage.
The attack reportedly inflicted more than $2.2 billion in losses on Russia’s strategic aviation, according to preliminary internal estimates.
The operation was in preparation for more than a year and a half and was personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the sources said. It was executed by SBU chief Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk and his team.
It marks one of the most ambitious SBU drone campaigns to date – a dramatic escalation in Ukraine’s long-range strike capability.
According to the sources, the operation involved complex logistics. Ukraine first smuggled FPV drones into Russian territory.
Later, mobile wooden houses were transported across the border and placed on trucks. Drones were concealed under the floors of the houses. At the designated time, the structures were remotely opened, and the drones were launched to strike the aircraft on the ground.
“We have the photos showing exactly how the drones were prepared and concealed inside these mobile structures,” one source said.
According to Russian Telegram channels, the FPV drones that attacked military targets in the Irkutsk and Murmansk regions were launched from trucks parked along nearby highways.
Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev confirmed via Telegram that drones struck a military unit in the village of Sredny – the first time Siberia has come under drone attack.
“The source from where the drones were released has already been blocked. It’s a truck,” Kobzev wrote. “The main thing is not to panic. There is no threat to the life and health of civilians.”
No official comment has been made by the Russian Ministry of Defense at this time.
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