Ukraine claimed on Sunday it had launched a large-scale drone attack on Russian military airfields, destroying over three dozen strategic aviation assets.
The attacks, described as one of the most widespread so far, targeted airbases in Siberia and the northern Murmansk region.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed the operation, calling it a ‘large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft’.
It further added, “Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia.”
Video footage posted online appeared to show a drone attack at the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk Oblast, located thousands of miles from Ukraine.
Russian authorities have not officially commented on the strikes, but local officials confirmed damage.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said drones hit a military installation near Sredny, 150 km from Lake Baikal. He stated that one drone struck an abandoned building in the nearby village of Novomaltinsk.
Kobzev added that the drones were launched from a small truck and that the suspected launch site had been ‘blocked’. He assured there was ‘no threat to the lives and health of civilians’.
Emergency services and law enforcement were deployed to the scene.
Social media footage suggests at least three drones were used in the raid.
Both Russian and Ukrainian media reported Kyiv as the likely perpetrator, though no formal admission came from either side.
Russian media outlets reported a similar drone strike in the Murmansk Region in northern Russia. However, officials there gave no further details about the incident.
These strikes occurred just hours before the next round of Russia–Ukraine peace talks, scheduled to begin in Istanbul.
The timing of the Ukrainian drone strike is likely to influence the tone of the discussions.
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