Ukraine destroys dozens aircraft deep inside Russia ahead of peace talks in Istanbul

According to a source in the Ukrainian Security Service, Ukraine carried out large-scale drone attacks on Sunday on several airbases deep within Russia, killing many war planes.

The attacks are the most ambitious simultaneous strikes on Russian airbases carried out by Ukraine since the war began (SBU).

The attack follows a night of bombardment, with Russia launching 472 drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Earlier on Sunday, the Ukrainian army stated that a Russian missile attack on an army training unit killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers and injured 60 more.

The latest escalation comes just a day before Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to meet for a second round of direct talks in Istanbul.

The SBU source said that Russian bombers were “burning en masse” at four airbases hundreds of miles apart, adding that drones had been launched from trucks inside Russia.

The source said that more than 40 planes had been hit, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 observation planes.

The airfields targeted included Belaya in Irkutsk, some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Russia, and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan in western Russia, about 520 kilometers (320 miles) from Ukraine, which is a training center for Russia’s strategic bomber force.

The source also said that the Olenya base in Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, which is more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine, and the Ivanovo airfield, which is more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine, were hit. Ivanovo is a base for Russian military transport aircraft.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian drones had attacked airfields in five regions stretching across five time zones. The ministry reported that many planes caught fire in the areas of Murmansk, which is close to the border with Norway, and Irkutsk, which is in eastern Siberia. It added that the other attacks were stopped and that no one was hurt.

There were no casualties as a result of the attacks, the ministry continued, adding that “some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained.”

The governor of Irkutsk region, Igor Kobziev, said that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya base.

The SBU source said that the operation was “extremely complicated from a logistical point of view,” with the drones carried inside wooden mobile homes that had been carried into Russia on trucks.

“The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not directly address the bombing, but said Sunday on X that Ukraine was “doing everything to protect our independence, our state, and our people,” after saying he had received updates from intelligence agencies and the SBU.

On Saturday night, two bridges collapsed in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, killing seven and injuring dozens. Russian officials said that the damage was done on purpose.

The first collapse occurred late Saturday in Bryansk, crashing onto railway tracks and derailing an approaching train, according to Gov. Alexander Bogomaz.

“Unfortunately, there are seven fatalities,” he posted on Telegram, later adding that 47 people had been hospitalized.

Hours later in the Kursk region, a railway bridge collapsed while a freight train was crossing it, according to acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein.