Ukraine's military conducted a "large-scale" attack on Russia, with state media claiming on Sunday that over 40 strategic bomber jets were destroyed in the strike using drones in various regions, including the Siberian region of Irkutsk, which is over 4,000 kilometres away from the border.
The country’s Security Service (SBU) has conducted a “large-scale special operation,” codenamed Spider Web, to destroy Russian bombers, Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported, citing sources in the SBU.
The report said SBU drones targeted planes used by Moscow in attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight.
More than 40 bombers are currently known to have been hit, the report claimed, adding that preparations for the "operation" took more than a year and a half.
The attack targeted four airfields at once, including Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya, according to the report.
The Belaya airbase is in Russia's Siberian region of Irkutsk, whose administrative center is more than 4,300 kilometres (2,670 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The source went on to describe the "operation" as "extremely complex" from a logistical point of view, with the SBU first transporting the drones to Russia, after which they were hidden under the roof of mobile wooden houses, which were then remotely opened.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev on Telegram confirmed strikes on his region, saying a military unit in the settlement of Sredny was attacked by drones.
“The source from which the drones were launched has already been blocked. It was a truck,” he added.
Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis and Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov also reported drone attacks in their respective regions. The former, however, called information regarding explosions in the town of Severomorsk “fake.”
The town serves as the main naval base for Russia's Northern Fleet.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that Ukraine launched drone attacks on airfields across five regions, including Murmansk and Irkutsk, calling them “terrorist attacks.”
The ministry added that all strikes were repelled, some suspects were detained, and several aircraft caught fire.
