Ukraine drone strike destroys Russian bombers in operation deliberate for 18 months

[ad_1] The brazen Ukrainian blitz of Russian warplanes Sunday was 18 months within the making and the Pentagon was stored at midnight till it was over, sources instructed Fox Information.

"Operation Spider's Internet," a collection of coordinated drone strikes penetrating deep into Russian territory, is believed to have taken out dozens of Russia's strongest bomber jets and surveillance planes as they sat idle on 5 army airfields.

The gorgeous operation was personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s safety service (SBU) mentioned.

Ukraine used small FPV drones hidden inside wood cabins mounted on vehicles. When the vehicles reached their targets, the roofs opened by distant management, and the drones launched.

Movies on social media confirmed drones lifting off from parked vehicles and placing giant plane on the runways.

UKRAINE DESTROYS DOZENS OF RUSSIAN WARPLANES WITH DRONE ATTACK DEEP INSIDE RUSSIA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with a prime army commander at his workplace in Kyiv following the announcement of "Operation Spider's Internet," a drone strike that focused Russian airbases deep inside Russian territory. (@ZelenskyyUa by way of X)

In a press release on X, Zelenskyy called the operation "a completely good end result" and mentioned it was "achieved solely by Ukraine."

He mentioned the mission took "one yr, six months, and 9 days from the beginning of planning to efficient execution" and described it as "our most long-range operation." He added that "our individuals concerned in getting ready the operation had been withdrawn from Russian territory in time" and thanked Basic Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU, for the success.

Zelensky mentioned some particulars couldn't be disclosed but however declared: "These are Ukrainian actions that may undoubtedly be in historical past books… Ukraine is defending itself, and rightly so."

Russia’s protection ministry confirmed that airfields in 5 areas had been attacked: Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur.

Russia known as the strike a "terrorist act" however mentioned its forces repelled the assault. Nonetheless, the ministry admitted a number of plane caught hearth. Russian officers mentioned some suspects had been arrested.

Ukraine said 117 drones had been used.

The SBU claimed 34% of Russia’s strategic bombers had been hit and estimated the injury at $7 billion. BBC Monitoring reported that different Ukrainian specialists gave a decrease estimate of $2 billion. These numbers haven't been confirmed.

The assault occurred simply earlier than deliberate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia had been set to start Monday in Istanbul, that are backed by President Donald Trump, the BBC reported.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES LARGEST AERIAL ATTACK OF UKRAINE WAR, KILLING AT LEAST 12

This picture taken from a video launched by a supply within the Ukrainian Safety Service on June 1, 2025, reveals a Ukrainian drone placing Russian planes deep in Russia's territory. (Ukrainian Safety Service by way of AP)

Ukraine says it'll push for a full ceasefire, the return of captured prisoners, and the return of youngsters taken to Russia. These phrases haven't been agreed to by Russia.

The White Home confirmed to Fox Information that the Trump administration was not knowledgeable concerning the assault prematurely. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who didn't communicate to Ukrainian officers instantly after the operation, was finally given a full briefing and subsequent updates, in line with a senior protection official.

The officers mentioned the blitz was extremely refined, and that the Pentagon is uncertain whether or not the quadcopter drones, which had been prepositioned in Russia in cabins after which offloaded into vehicles, had been piloted or autonomous.

U.S. officers had been skeptical of studies that as much as 50 Russian bombers had been hit, and believed the quantity was possible between 11 and 15, the official mentioned, who added it could have concerned as many as 5 Russian airfields.

On this undated picture supplied by the Ukrainian Safety Service, head of the Safety Service Vasyl Malyuk research a photograph of a map of Russia's strategic aviation location in his workplace in Ukraine. (Ukrainian Safety Service by way of AP)

Navy specialists say the raid broken Russia’s means to launch long-range missile assaults. The bombers hit included TU-95 and TU-22M3 plane, which have been utilized in previous strikes on Ukraine.

Ukraine additionally claimed it broken a Russian A-50 radar plane, used to direct Russian air energy.

BBC weapons analyst Chris Partridge mentioned that as a result of the drones had been launched from inside Russia, air defenses just like the S-300 and S-400 had little time to react.