Officials say they received drone attacks deep within Russia during a massive Ukrainian operation deep within Russia ahead of peace talks scheduled to begin in Istanbul on Monday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukraine launched drone strikes targeting Russian military airfields in five regions on Sunday, with several aircraft fired.
The attacks occurred in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. The ministry said air defense repelled attacks in all but two areas.
“In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, several aircraft have been fired due to the launch of FPV drones from areas close to the airfield,” the ministry said.
The fire disappeared and no casualties were reported. Some individuals involved in the attack were in detention, the department said.
On Sunday night, Ukrainian President Voldy Milzelensky praised the “absolutely amazing” Ukrainian drone attack, saying it caused tangible losses to Moscow.
“Absolutely great results. The results produced by Ukraine were independently produced,” Zelenki wrote on the telegram messaging app, saying the operation took over a year and a half. “This is our longest range operation.”
Shortly afterwards, at a video address every night, the president said 117 drones were being used to attack Russian bases. “Russia had very specific losses and it was justly the case,” he said.
Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) said on Sunday it crashed into a Russian military plane worth a total of $7 billion in a wave of drone strikes at a Russian air base.
“$7 billion: This is the estimated cost of enemy strategic aviation, and it was a hit today as a result of the SBU’s special operations,” the agency said in a social media post.
The targets included Bellaya Air Base in Irkutsk, about 4,300 km (2,670 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and Orenia Air Base in southern Murmansk, about 1,800 km (1,120 miles) from Ukraine.
Earlier on Sunday, reports from multiple local Ukrainian media outlets, including those by the provincial news agency Uklinform, cited sources within the SBU that the coordinated attacks within Russia were “intended to destroy enemy bombers far from the front.”
They said the operation was carried out by the SBU using drones smuggled deep into Russia and hidden inside trucks. At least 41 heavy Russian bombers were hit on four air bases, according to the report.
“According to ground witnesses and local officials, these drones were launched from a site near the air base. That means this is an elaborate operation. It involved many people within Russia,” Al Jazeera’s Dosa Jabari reported from Moscow.
“This is the only biggest attack we’ve seen in a day on multiple military air ridges within Russia since the war began in February 2022,” Jabari said, noting that the Air Base is home to Russian strategic air bombers that have been used to attack targets across Ukraine for the past three years.
Al Jazeera’s John Hendren reported from Kiev that “it’s a bold strike that Ukraine has been waiting for so long and patiently giving birth, and comes after the Russian air has accelerated dramatically over the past few weeks.”
Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed and 69 people were injured when a highway bridge in the Bryansk region of Russia exploded with a highway bridge in the nearby Ukraine region.
No one has yet to assert responsibility. Russian officials said they treated the incident as a “terrorist act” but did not immediately condemn Ukraine.
Russia also said it had gone deeper into the Smie region of Ukraine, and it showed its fastest progress every month in at least six months as the open source pro-Ukraine map showed that Russia had consumed 450 square kilometers (174 square miles) of Ukrainian land in May.
Moscow fired 472 drones overnight in Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said it was the highest total of the war to date. Russia had also launched seven missiles, the Air Force said.
Both parties sped up the attacks sharply as Ukraine confirmed it would send a delegation to Istanbul, led by the Defense Minister for meeting with Russian officials on Monday. Turkiye is holding a meeting. This was spurred by US President Donald Trump’s call for a quick deal to end the three-year war.
Zelensky, who has previously been skeptical of the seriousness of the Russian side engaged in Monday’s meeting, said he defined the position of the Ukrainian delegation on consultations.
Priorities included “a complete and unconditional ceasefire” and the return of prisoners and abandoned children, he said on social media.
Russia has said it has formulated its own terms of peace, but refused to leak them in advance. Russian President Vladimir Putin also ruled out Türkiye’s proposal for a conference held at the leadership level.
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