Ukraine strikes deep into Russia, destroys strategic bombers in drone attack

A large-scale drone strike launched by Ukraine has targeted multiple military airfields deep inside Russian territory, destroying a significant number of strategic bombers in what officials described as the country’s longest-range operation since the war began, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a series of statements on Sunday, President Zelenskyy credited Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) with carrying out the operation, dubbed “Spider Web,” describing it as the country’s “most long-range” mission to date. He said the strike had been in planning for more than a year and a half, and noted that Ukrainian teams involved in the operation were safely withdrawn from Russian territory ahead of its execution.

According to Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials, 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers were struck during the overnight operation. Targets included multiple Tu-95 bombers, as well as Tu-160 and Tu-22 aircraft across airbases in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur.

At least four Tu-95s were confirmed destroyed at Olenya airbase, along with one An-12 transport aircraft, a Ukrainian source told journalist Michael Weiss.

Zelenskyy also revealed that the covert “office” managing the Ukrainian operation was positioned near a regional office of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). “These are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books,” he said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the drone attacks calling them “terrorist acts” done by the “Kyiv regime,” claiming that several attacks were repelled and that no personnel were injured. However, the statement acknowledged that some aircraft caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions due to drones launched from nearby locations. Russian authorities said fires were extinguished and several suspects had been detained.

The drone strike followed a series of alleged sabotage incidents hours earlier, including explosions that destroyed railway bridges in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions. At least seven people were killed and dozens injured after a passenger train derailed en route to Moscow.

Ukrainian military intelligence also claimed responsibility for a separate rail explosion in occupied southern Ukraine, saying it disrupted a key military supply line toward Crimea.

President Zelenskyy said the latest drone operation would reinforce Ukraine’s negotiating position ahead of a meeting in Istanbul on Monday. He outlined his delegation’s goals as achieving a full ceasefire, the return of prisoners, and the repatriation of children taken from Ukraine. “Russia started this war, Russia must end it,” he said.