Ukrainian strike on Russian bombers alarmed Kremlin over nuclear carriers vulnerability, Bloomberg reports
A recent Ukrainian drone strike deep inside Russian territory has sparked anger and concern among Kremlin officials over the exposed vulnerability of a nuclear-capable air force far from the front lines, Bloomberg reported on June 2, citing undisclosed sources close to senior Moscow officials.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the operation "Spiderweb" on June 1, targeting Russian air bases at Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo with drones hidden in trucks across Russia.
The strike is claimed to have hit 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. These planes belong to Russia's nuclear-capable air fleet and are used to launch cruise missile attacks on Ukraine's cities.
Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily update on June 3 that Russian forces lost 12 aircraft, without elaborating on the types of destroyed planes or whether more had been damaged.
Meanwhile, a source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg that the number of affected aircraft may be closer to 10. According to the outlet’s sources, only a small number of the targeted Russian bombers are required for strikes against Ukraine, meaning the pace of missile and bombing attacks is unlikely to slow.
The SBU claimed the operation caused approximately $7 billion in damage and disabled one-third of Russia's cruise missile bombers.
Independent confirmation of the damage caused is so far limited to satellite images of Belaya air base, which appear to confirm the destruction of at least three Tu-95MS strategic bombers and one Tu-22M3 aircraft, with an additional Tu-95MS visibly damaged.
Another image shows two more likely destroyed Tu-22M3 bombers on the field.
Oleg Sukhov
