Moscow| June,1 : Ukraine on Sunday launched one of its largest drone-based operations on Russia to date, striking an air base in eastern Siberia, thousands of kilometres (miles) from its border. The Russian governor of the Irkutsk region confirmed the attack, saying Ukrainian remote-piloted aircraft attacked a military unit in the village of Sridni, the first such attack in Siberia.
Ukrainian media claimed that a large-scale special operation by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has struck “more than 40” Russian aircrafts at air bases in the “rear of the Russian Federation”.
Citing officials, news agency AFP reported that Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, in Olenya, up in the Arctic near Finland, and in Ivanovo and Dyagilevo, both east of Moscow, had been targeted. The aircraft destroyed in the attack include Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, and at least one A-50, a report by Kyiv Independent claimed, citing sources.
The attack is aimed at destroying enemy bombers far from the front, in Russia, news agency AFP reported, quoting a source, who added that a fire broke out at the targeted Belaya air base. If confirmed, the strikes would be the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war, and would be a significant setback for Moscow. Army and civilian responders have already been mobilised to tackle the threat, and the source of the drone launch has been blocked, according to an RT report.
The operation has been launched under a special operation code-named “Pavutyna” – or “Web” – aimed at degrading Russia’s long-range strike capabilities, according to a Ukrainian publication, Pravda.
Ukraine, which lacks Russia’s vast arsenal of missiles, has instead built up a large fleet of attack drones, which it has used to attack Russian military and oil facilities in the past as well.
