VOLODYMYR Zelensky has hailed Ukraine’s daring drone blitz on Russian airbases as one for the “history books”.
Dramatic footage captured the moment 117 expertly smuggled drones being stored inside trucks in Russia were launched by Ukraine.
President Zelensky revealed it took over 18 months to pull off the masterful attack.
It marks Kyiv’s longest range operation of the conflict so far with at least 40 aircraft being attacked as part of the expert operation codenamed “Spiderweb”.
In an embarrassing result for a raging Vladimir Putin 34 per cent of his cruise missile carriers at the targeted airfields were blasted, Zelensky said.
A £260million AWACS aircraft and bombers capable of dropping nuclear weapons were also struck.
Dramatic video shows one Ukrainian FPV drone taking off from the back of a lorry and heading towards an enemy airbase.
Another clip then captures the moment one of the drones locks on to a target before diving near the aircraft, believed to be a Tu-95 bomber, and explodes.
Zelensky hailed the strikes as he described it as an “absolutely brilliant result”.
Speaking on X, the heroic leader said: “A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation.
“Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books.
“Ukraine is defending itself, and rightly so – we are doing everything to make Russia feel the need to end this war.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defence also confirmed the strikes.
They branded them “terrorist attacks” and claimed that the drones had all been “repelled” despite the damning footage.
Stunned Kremlin commentators described the blitz as “Russia’s Pearl Harbour” as they called on Putin to hit back with a nuclear response.
In total, four airbases were targeted, according to Ukrainian media.
Large swarms of drones attacked Olenya airbase in the Murmansk region, home to Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.
The second base under fire was the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk Oblast in Sibera – some 2,500 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The two other airbases hit were Ivanovo and Diaghilevo, with Moscow later claiming the Amur Oblast had also been attacked.
More than £1.5billion worth of damage has been inflicted on the Russian air force, say Ukrainian sources.
This included to long-range Tu-22M3 bombers – used in daily raids on Ukraine – as well as an A-50 air reconnaissance aircraft.
The A-50 is an Early Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) (AWACS), carrying a price tag of £260million.
A source told Kyiv Post it marked a “turning point” in the war and said Russia’s “impunity is over”.
The air assault is believed to have been launched from within Russia – from the backs of lorries driving near the bases.
Ukraine’s RBC news agency reported that the SBU special operation – said to be supervised by President Zelensky – took more than 18 months to plan.
These FPV drones were hidden under remote-controlled roofs on trucks.
When triggered, the roofs opened and kamikaze drones launched toward Russian bombers.
The drones were reportedly trained by artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise the Russian bombers and execute automatic dive attack algorithms.
Pictures shared by the Ukrainian intelligence service showed a huge stockpile of FPV drones – some of them appeared to be placed inside lorries.
Maria Avdeeva, Senior Fellow at Foreign Policy Research Institute, said: “Ukraine secretly delivered FPV drones and wooden mobile cabins into Russia.
“The drones were hidden under the roofs of the cabins, which were later mounted on trucks.
“At the signal, the roofs opened remotely. Dozens of drones launched directly from the trucks, striking strategic bomber aircraft.
“Russia can’t produce these bombers anymore. The loss is massive.”
Unconfirmed reports also said that explosions were heard in Severomosk – the home port of Putin’s nuclear submarine base and prized Northern Fleet.
Unverified footage showed plumes of black smoke rising over the town located on the Kola Bay near the Barents Sea.
A source told the Kyiv Independent: “Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia — this is the result of a special operation by the SBU.
“Right now, the Security Service of Ukraine is conducting a large-scale special operation to destroy enemy bomber aircraft in the rear of the Russian Federation.
“SBU drones are practising on aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night.”
They added: “Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3.
Russia’s governor of the Murmansk region confirmed that the drone strike had taken place.
Unverified footage showed smoke billowing from Russian air bases as local civilians watched on in horror.
Ukraine’s Pravda Gerashchenko Telegram channel said: “A special operation ‘Web’ is being conducted to demilitarise Russia.
“The [SBU] report the destruction of Russian bomber aircraft behind enemy lines.”
Local residents reported hearing explosions as swathes of Ukrainian UAVs struck Putin’s bases.
Both airfields are miles from the bloody frontline, but were still “under drone attack” by Ukrainian forces.
It marks one of the bleakest days of the war for President Putin, who continues to blitz Ukraine relentlessly.
A report said the driver of the truck that released the drones “may not have known” that his vehicle was full of the Ukrainian UAVs.
According to Baza Media, the driver has since been detained.
Local reports said: “A truck stopped at a gas station at the entrance to the city.
“Drones started flying out of the back of the truck and then attacked various objects.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14371994/ukraine-drone-blitz-destroys-russian-airfields/
