The impact of Ukraine’s audacious drone attack deep inside Russia over the weekend has been captured in satellite imagery which suggests a number of strategic bombers were severely damaged or outright destroyed.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyQ4LIRcNg
Operation Spiderweb: Satellite imagery shows Russian bombers destroyed in massive Ukrainian drone attack | The Independent26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC1vSES2Kj
Carried out on Sunday, “Operation Spiderweb” was planned out over the course of 18 months and executed by Ukraine’s SBU security service. It saw truckloads of drones smuggled thousands of kilometers into Russian territory before they were unleashed close to airbases to destroy as many aircraft as possible, officials in Kyiv said.
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In a rare confirmation of such losses, Russia said Ukraine attacked airfields across five regions, causing several aircraft to catch fire. “The attacks occurred in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. Air defences repelled the assaults in all but two regions, Murmansk and Irkutsk,” Moscow’s defence ministry claimed on Sunday.
New satellite images from Capella Space, a satellite company, took a before-and-after view of the airfield located in Irkutsk, a Siberian region.
The images from 2 June, a day after Ukraine’s operation, feature the dismantled debris and ashen remains of several aircraft located along the runway of the Belaya military air base or parked in protective revetments nearby.
Satellite Pics Show How Russia Tried To Avert Ukraine Drone Strikes, But Failed26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSV7zUxoX3Y
The latest images are from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites which direct energy beams at the Earth and detect echoes, allowing identification of small topographical details.
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Experts have said that the destruction seen in these images confirm Russia suffered the loss of multiple aircraft.
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"Based on the debris visible, comparison to recent satellite images and released drone footage from Telegram posted to Twitter, I can see the destruction of several aircraft," said John Ford, a research associate at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
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He added that the SAR satellite imagery seen by him purportedly shows the remnants of two destroyed Tu-22 Backfires – long-range, supersonic strategic bombers that have been used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.
The SAR images and the footage of the strikes posted on social media also indicated that four strategic Tu-95 heavy bombers had been destroyed or severely damaged, Mr. Ford added.
In Kyiv, Ukraine’s SBU security agency said that the operation resulted in the loss of a total of 41 Russian warplanes.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesfjz0XUqi
Explosive-laden drones were hidden in the roofs of wooden sheds, which were then loaded onto trucks and driven to the perimeter of the air bases, according to a Ukrainian security official.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYozturfTQ
The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely-activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, the official said.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9qZesaaeE
The Independent has not verified the claims.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoibGGPIaih
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “absolutely brilliant”, lauding the operation which hit Russian targets up to 4,300km (2,670 miles) from the war’s frontline. The preliminary assessment from the Ukrainian military confirmed damages to 12 additional aircraft after the operation over the weekend.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EN33dWpH7
"After processing additional information from various sources and verifying it ... we report that the total (Russian) losses amounted to 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers and other types of combat aircraft," the SBU said in an update.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAEzpWEwni
It added that the damage amounted to $7bn, and 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia's main airfields were hit.
Panic after attack: massive traffic jams hit Irkutsk after drone assaults on Russian airfields - YouTube
In the shadows of war, innovation strikes with devastating precision. Ukraine’s daring drone operation, targeting Russia's most formidable aircraft, has proven that distance is no barrier to ingenuity. With strategic intelligence, explosive ingenuity, and a 4,300km reach, Ukraine has dealt a staggering blow to Russia's air dominance, crippling its ability to launch future missile strikes. The cost? A $7 billion loss, including the destruction of 41 aircraft, and a reminder that in modern warfare, it’s not just about who has the most firepower—it’s about who can think the furthest ahead. As the world watches, the question remains: who will adapt faster in this evolving battlefield?
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT
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