Ukraine has destroyed a significant portion of Russia’s bomber forces in a daring drone attack deep inside Russia. Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, launched hundreds of drones near four air bases in Russia and destroyed 41 heavy bombers, many of which had been used in long-range missile attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks. According to Kyiv Independent, the single coordinated attack caused $ 7 billion in damage and took out 34 percent of Russia’s cruise missile launch platforms. Among the planes hit were A-50s, Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s, some of the most modern in the Russian inventory.
Once the bombers were burning, Ukraine apparently had no qualms about bragging about how they did it. A source told the Independent the drones, each equipped with POV cameras that live-streamed their flights, were smuggled into Russia in an operation that started about 18 months ago. They were taken to staging area near the air bases, including one in Irkutsk, about 2500 miles from Ukraine, and hidden in the joist spaces of dummy cabins. The cabins were mounted on trucks and moved into position. “At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers,” the publication reported.
