Moscow (EFE).- Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that Ukrainian drones hit military airfields in the northern region of Murmansk and the Siberian region of Irkutsk, located over 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles) from Kyiv.
According to a military statement, drones launched remotely from trailers attached to heavy trucks hit several aircraft parked on the runway: “In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, fires broke out on several aircraft as a result of drones being launched from a territory located near the airfields.”
Videos posted on Telegram channels such as Baza and Mash show large plumes of smoke and police and military personnel attempting to shoot down the drones with rifle fire.
The attack on the Belaya airfield in Irkutsk was the first to target Siberian territory, as confirmed by Igor Kobzev, the regional governor.
The Ministry of Defense described the attacks, which targeted five Russian regions, as “terrorist,” as it usually does with all Ukrainian drone launches against Russian territory.
“The terrorist attacks on the airfields in Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur were all repelled,” it added.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that over 40 aircraft were hit as part of Operation Spider’s Web. The aforementioned was confirmed by Russian military bloggers such as Rybak, who reported the destruction of several Tu-95M bombers.
“This is, without exaggeration, a major setback for the strategic sector,” Rybak posted on Telegram, criticizing both the secret services and the military for their negligence, which could result in damages amounting to 2 billion dollars.
Some of the truck drivers claimed that they were unaware of the contents of their cargo, stating that the men who hired them had instructed them to arrive at a specific time at a petrol station.
According to a video posted on the Telegram channels Baza and Mash, one of the trucks exploded in the air while several people were inside and nearby.
Ukrainian drones had previously only hit targets in European Russia and rarely further north than the Russian capital.
The northern region of Murmansk, north of the Arctic Circle, is over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) from Kyiv. In comparison, the Amur Oblast region is over 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Like Irkutsk, the neighboring region of Buryatia is bathed by Lake Baikal. Together with Tuva and Altai, it is the region that has contributed the most soldiers per thousand inhabitants to the Russian military campaign. EFE
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