Ukraine drones target Russian air bases in covert strike likened to Israeli pager op
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian secret services were able to attack strategic bomber aircraft at Russian air bases on Sunday by hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds, according to a Ukrainian security official and images posted online.
Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, acknowledged that it carried out the attacks and said they caused considerable damage.
The sheds were loaded onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases. The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely-activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, the official said.
The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said strikes were conducted on Sunday on four air bases, and that 41 Russian warplanes were hit.
An SBU statement posted on the Telegram messaging app estimated the damage caused by the assaults at $7 billion.
“Thirty-four percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit,” the SBU said on Telegram.
Unverified videos and pictures posted on Russian social media showed Russian strategic bombers on fire at the Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region of Siberia.
Igor Kobzev, the regional governor, said there had been a drone attack on a military unit near the village of Sredny, which is near the Belaya base, though he did not specify what the target was. He said the drones had been launched from a truck.
The Irkutsk region attack was the first time a drone........
© The Times of Israel
