More than 40 Russian aircraft, including the Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 long-range bombers capable of deploying conventional and nuclear weapons, as well as the A-50, are reported to have been damaged in the operation on Sunday, an official in Ukraine’s Security Service said on condition of anonymity as the details are not public. Ukraine’s Security Service chief, Vasyl Malyuk, led the operation, and losses are assessed to be at least $2 billion, the person said.
Drones were released remotely from wooden mobile houses that were transported on trucks inside Russian territory, according to the official.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy revealed details of the operation, saying it was “one year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution”. He added, “Our most long-range operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time.”
In a separate post on Telegram, Zelenskiy said Ukraine used 117 drones with people operating inside Russia across three time zones, adding that “34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at the airfields were hit.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement that attacks occurred at five military airbases across the nation, from the Far East and eastern Siberia to locations just several hundred miles from Moscow. Authorities claimed, however, that only “a few aircraft units” were damaged at two military bases in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions.
The attacks “were repelled at the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions,” the ministry said. Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify either side’s claims.
Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine came under one of the longest barrages from Russian missiles and drones, with air sirens lasting for more than 9 hours. At least 12 people were killed in a strike on a military training centre, prompting Ukraine Ground Forces Commander Mykhaylo Drapatyi to announce his decision to resign due to the casualties.
The incidents occurred just as Moscow and Kyiv prepare to send delegations to Turkey for a second round of peace talks on Monday. The opening round on May 16 — the first in more than three years — ended with a prisoner exchange agreement and discussions on a potential ceasefire. So far, Russia has not signalled whether the attacks may affect the talks.
Zelenskiy on Sunday confirmed Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will lead a delegation to Istanbul to discuss issues including a full and unconditional ceasefire, the release of prisoners and the return of abducted children.The delegations should also discuss the prospects of a high-level meeting as key issues can only be resolved by leaders, Zelenskiy added.
Separately, Russia’s main investigating authority on Sunday initiated criminal probes after two bridges blew up in regions bordering Ukraine, crushing passing trains that caused at least seven fatalities and widespread injury.
Authorities have classified the incidents as “terrorist attacks,” the country’s Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in comments broadcast by state TV channel Rossiya 24.
A section of the road bridge in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, struck a passenger train en route to Moscow shortly before midnight on Saturday, the regional governor, Alexander Bogomaz, said in a Telegram post. The number of injured stands at over 70, he said.
Hours later, a similar incident occurred in Kursk, which also borders Ukraine. There was a railway bridge collapse as a freight train was passing, Governor Alexander Khinshtein said. The engine crew was hospitalized.
It’s unclear whether there is a connection between the two.
Russia’s government, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, has been notified of the two incidents, state news agency Tass reported, citing Transportation Ministry head Roman Starovoit.
Ukraine has so far made no official comment on the bridge incidents. However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Propaganda, said on Sunday the Kremlin may be “preparing the ground for disruption of the talks,” adding it’s not the first time Russia conducts “false-flag” attacks.
“Ukraine has no motive to disrupt the Istanbul summit. On the contrary, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire long ago,” Kovalenko said in a Telegram post.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Service said a military train exploded in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is partially occupied by Russia, without giving details on how the blast occurred. The explosion disrupted logistics between the area and the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, the service said.
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