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Zelensky says major drone attack on Russian airfields ‘will go in history books’
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Dozens of Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russia, a Ukrainian official has said, the day before critical peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv resume in Istanbul.
Codenamed ‘spider web’, first-person view (FPV) drones were smuggled deep inside Russian territory inside trucks, before they were unleashed on multiple Russian airfields destroying more than 40 warplanes, Ukrainian security officials said.
Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the “absolutely brilliant” operation which he said destroyed one third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases.
Russia confirmed on Sunday that Ukraine had targeted military airfields across five regions on Sunday, causing several aircraft to catch fire – but claimed it had repelled most of the attacks.
Vladimir Putin will be “infuriated” by the “unprecedented” attack if it is as damaging as Kyiv claims, head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre John Lough told The Independent, describing it as a “huge win” for Ukraine.
The attack came one day before delegations from Moscow and Kyiv sit down for direct peace talks in Istanbul at 10am UK time (1pm local time) on Monday. Ukraine’s delegation will be led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, Mr Zelensky said.
Volodymyr Zelensky shared details of Kyiv’s drone swarm attack that left Russia stunned with the loss, reportedly, of 40 planes, including strategic bombers.
“Today, a brilliant operation was carried out. The preparation took over a year and a half. What’s most interesting, is that the ‘office’ of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions,” he said in his nightly address on X.
“In total, 117 drones were used in the operation with a corresponding number of drone operators involved. 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.”
A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in the country’s territory, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Sunday, while Moscow pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones just hours before a new round of direct peace talks in Istanbul.
The so-called “Spider Web” operation, carried out by Ukraine’s SBU security service, saw drones smuggled thousands of kilometres into Russian territory using lorries, before they were unleashed to destroy the aircraft, the SBU said.
In his evening address on Sunday, Volodomyr Zelensky said that 117 drones had been used in the operation. He claimed the operation had been headquartered out of an office next to the local FSB headquarters, the Russian intelligence and security service.
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly said Ukraine’s latest drone attack, which reportedly destroyed 40 aircraft deep inside Russia, showed the war-hit nation “WILL NOT GIVE UP!”
“Ukraine’s drone attack shows that those who have written them off were wrong to do so. I’ve been to Ukraine, met people at every level of society and I learned one big lesson. THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP!” he said on X.
Russia’s security service FSB thwarted an attempted arson attack on railway transportation in the far eastern region of Primorsky Krai, or Primorye, that was to be conducted on Ukraine’s order, the RIA news agency reported today.
“It was established that two 19-year-old residents of Primorsky Krai, on orders from Ukrainian special services and expecting to receive a monetary reward, committed actions aimed at setting fire to track-side relay cabinets,” RIA cited the service as saying.
Ukraine’s destruction of more than 40 Russian warplanes would be “really, really significant” if the scale of damage claimed by Kyiv is true, a military analyst has told The Independent.
“If the 40 hits are confirmed then it is really, really significant, and a very successful operation,” said Emil Kastehelmi of the Black Bird Group.
The Finnish open-source intelligence organisation has only confirmed six hits so far, but Mr Kastehelmi expects that number to rise.
“Even if it’s just [the six hits which Black Bird Group has confirmed], it’s is still a very successful operation,” he said.
“It’s been done in an interesting way, operating deep inside Russia with FPV [first-person view] drones, which the air defense can’t quickly and very effectively act against whilst they are there.”
The operation may not have gone entirely to plan, Mr Kastehelmi, said. It is “very likely” that one or two of the trucks carrying the drones into Russia exploded before they could reach their targets.
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