Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed his SBU intelligence service's surprise attack on several Russian military airports as an "absolutely brilliant success." The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the drone strike early Sunday evening and spoke of "terrorist attacks" on military airports in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, Amur, Murmansk, and Irkutsk regions. However, the attacks were repelled and no one was killed.
The Ukrainian secret service SBU has attacked several Russian military airports in a coordinated action and, according to its own account, destroyed more than 40 combat and reconnaissance aircraft. According to SBU data, around 34 percent of Russian bombers capable of launching cruise missiles were destroyed. The SBU put the value of the damaged or destroyed bombers at $7 billion (about €6.17 billion).
The information cannot be independently verified. According to Ukraine, Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 fighter jets and Beriev A-50 special early warning aircraft were destroyed during "Operation Spider Web." According to unconfirmed official reports, Ukrainian intelligence used combat drones launched from hideouts in wooden houses loaded onto trucks. "At the right moment, the roofs were opened remotely and the drones flew in to attack the Russian bombers," it said. Agents returned or arrested in Russia? The agents involved in the operation have already returned to Ukraine, according to the SBU and Zelensky.
If Russia reports arrests, this statement serves "only for a domestic audience," the SBU said. In the early afternoon, according to the state news agency TASS, Russian security forces reported that some alleged participants had been detained and injured. "At this time, all the details cannot be announced. But these Ukrainian actions will undoubtedly go down in history. Ukraine is defending itself (...) We are doing everything possible to force Russia to end this war," Zelensky said on the short-message platform X.
Drone attacks and "sabotage" ahead of the next round of talks. Ukrainian intelligence services have regularly carried out acts of sabotage and attacks on Russian territory since the start of the war in 2022. The latest incidents occurred a day before planned talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on a ceasefire. On Sunday night, there were also two incidents in the Russian border regions of Kursk and Bryansk, in which trains derailed after a bridge collapsed (see photos below).
In Bryansk, seven people were killed and at least 71 were injured. In Kursk, authorities reported one person injured. Russian politicians spoke of sabotage and blamed Ukraine for blowing up the bridges. "All this is aimed at toughening the position of the Russian Federation and provoking aggression before the negotiations," said Andrei Kartapoliv, chairman of the Duma's defense committee.
Moscow had proposed this round. In mid-May, the warring parties met for direct talks for the first time since 2022. The outcome of the meeting at that time was a prisoner exchange. Ukraine's position for the next round of talks, according to the country's leaders, includes a full and unconditional ceasefire, the release of prisoners, and the return of kidnapped children. In order to create lasting peace, a meeting at the highest level must also be prepared.
