The Security Service of Ukraine conducted operation «Web» to destroy Russian strategic bombers.
Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) Andriy Kovalenko reported that the targets were four military bases: «Olenya» in the Murmansk region, «Dyagilevo» in Ryazan, «Belaya» in Irkutsk, and «Ivanovo» in Ivanovo. He emphasized that the SBU attacked precisely those airfields from which the Russians were preparing another strike on Ukraine.
Residents of Olenegorsk in the Murmansk region write in local public forums about explosions and a fire. The population is prohibited from leaving the city, and entry is closed. According to the telegram channel Baza, close to law enforcement, the drones that attacked the airfield took off on the morning of June 1 from a truck parked near Olenegorsk. It is claimed that the driver might not have known about the cargo. He has been detained. Tu-22M3 bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are based at the «Olenya» airfield. The governor of the Murmansk region, Andrey Chibis, confirmed the drone attack on the region.
In the Irkutsk region, drones struck a military unit in the village of Sredny in the Usolsky district, reported governor Igor Kobzev, emphasizing that this is the first drone attack on Siberian territory during the entire war. As in the Murmansk region, the drones were launched from a truck, according to telegram channels close to law enforcement. FSB, Rosgvardiya, and EMERCOM officers arrived at the scene. The «Belaya» military airbase, where the 200th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Brest Red Banner Regiment, equipped with strategic Tu-22M3 bombers, is stationed, is located in the Usolsky district. Local residents named it as the target.
Governor of the Ryazan region Pavel Malkov also confirmed the attack on the region. He stated that a fragment of a downed drone damaged the roof of a residential building, but no one was injured. Meanwhile, according to «Caution, news», the target of the raid was the «Dyagilevo» airfield. Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers are stationed there.
At the «Ivanovo» airfield, long-range radar detection and control aircraft A-50, which Russian troops use to detect Ukrainian air defense systems, might have been hit. Authorities did not report the attack.
Ukrainian publications, citing sources in the SBU, reported that the attack on Russian military airfields had been prepared for «more than a year and a half». «Initially, the SBU transferred FPV drones to Russia, and then mobile wooden houses. Later, in Russian territory, the drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs of the houses remotely opened, and the drones rushed to strike Russian bombers», the media describe the operation.
According to «RBC-Ukraine», as a result of the SBU operation, personally led by the head of the service Vasyl Maliuk, more than 40 aircraft were hit, including the A-50 AWACS aircraft, as well as Tu-95 and Tu-22M3. The total damage from the attacks exceeded $2 billion.
From an economic efficiency standpoint, today's operation by Ukraine is practically unmatched, writes Clash Report. One Ukrainian FPV drone can cost $300-600, while a modernized Russian strategic bomber Tu-95MS is valued at more than $100 million. The publication also writes that if Russia loses the Tu-95MS, it will weaken the potential for a nuclear retaliatory strike and significantly reduce the effectiveness of long-range attacks.