Irina Pogorelaya21:20, 01.06.25

These attacks, as the publication noted, are a significant victory for Ukraine’s deep strike program.

Ukraine has brazenly attacked four military airfields in Russia with drones, destroying more than 40 combat aircraft.

According to Military Balance+, a database of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank, the Russians had 54 Tu-22M3s and 58 Tu-95Ms before the attacks, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports .

“It is unclear how many of these planes were in working order. In Russia, old planes were stored for a long time and dismantled for spare parts,” the publication noted. 

The WSJ notes that the loss of dozens of long-range aircraft, vital to Russia and its attacks on Ukraine, will cause serious damage to Russia’s military power. The fact is that Russia no longer produces Tu-95MS or Tu-22M3 aircraft, which were among the damaged ones.

These attacks, as the publication noted, are a significant victory for Ukraine’s deep strike program, which uses drones to hit important targets in Russia. 

The extent of the damage will take time to assess, but it appears to have been a significant blow to Russia’s long-range air power, said Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

“Ukrainian special services have dealt the most powerful blow of the entire war to the Russian fleet of long-range bombers,” Bronk stated.

Strikes on Russian airfields

This afternoon, Ukrainian drones struck Russian air bases at Belaya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Olenya, each of which houses Russian military aircraft.

The attack, dubbed “Web,” took a year and a half to prepare.

A video taken by drones shows smoke coming from planes at the Belaya airfield near the Russian border with Mongolia. “This is how beautiful the Belaya airfield looks now,” SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk said in the video.

(c)UNIAN 2025