The security services of Ukraine carried out a massive drone in the Russian military air bases on Sunday, hitting thousands or kilometers from the first line in what President Volodyyyr Zelensky said it was his greatest operation.
The operation, with the “Spider’s Web” code, required months of preparation and smuggling of drones in the Russian territory.
This is what we know about the attacks, which occurred on the eve of conversations in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine to explore the perspectives of a high fire:
Scenery
Ukraine has claimed significant damage, but for now, it is impossible to verify independently.
A source in the Ukraine SBU security service said that the coordinated attacks reached 41 aircraft used to “bombard the Ukrainian cities”, citing the TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers and the radar a-50 radar detection aircraft.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that “several airplanes caught fire” after a drone attack in the bases in the regions of Murmansk and Irkutsk in the Russian Arctic and the east of Siberia.
The fires were contained, the ministry said, and did not cause victims, and added that the suspects had “arrested.”
Ukrainian security services said they destroyed 34% of Russian strategic bombers who carry cruise missiles, claiming to have inflicted damage worth $ 7 billion.
Modus operandi
The “Spider’s Web” operation was prepared for more than a year and a half, said the Ukrainian SBU source, added that it had required a particularly complex logistics.
Ukraine regularly launches drones to attack objectives in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of 2022, but the modus operandi used this time was different.
The Ukrainian security source said the drones had been introduced in Russia and hidden in wood -installed wood structures.
The roofs of the structures were opened remotely to let the drones fly towards their objectives.
The photos shared by the SBU show numerous hidden black drones in what seems to be transport containers.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that drones were not launched from the Ukrainian territory but “in the vicinity of air bases.”
Longer range
Zensky on Sunday praised the “brilliant” operations in what he called “our most long -range operation” in more than three years of war.
Using 117 drones, Ukraine was able to reach thousands or kilometers from the front, when their attacks generally focus on areas near their borders.
Two of the Air Bases of Ukraine said he had hit, Olenya and Belaya, are around 1,900 kilometers and 4,300 kilometers of Ukraine. The first is found in the Russian Arctic, the other in East Siberia.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that other attacks in the regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, as well as in Amur near the border with China.
Council and symbolism
The concentrations of the attacks on Russian military capacities are difficult to estimate at this stage.
Ukraine suffers from almost daily air attacks that have tensioned their air defense capabilities in recent weeks.
Russian military bloggers lamented a “black day for aviation” after the Ukrainian attack.
Rybar, a telegram account near the Russian army, described him as a “very strong blow” and pointed out what he called “serious mistakes” by Russian intelligence.
But the symbolic meaning is important for Ukraine, whose army has setbacks in the front.
The former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, now an opposition figure, said that “there were no better arguments” for Ukraine on the eve of conversations with Moscow in Istanbul.
