The Voice news: For the first time, Ukraine has launched an attack on a Russian airbase in Siberia.
According to pro-Russian bloggers, Kyiv carried out the long-range strike on Sunday (June 1), targeting long-range nuclear-capable strategic bombers. British news agency Reuters reported the development.
Several videos and photos circulating on social media show fires engulfing Russian strategic bombers at the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk region. These aircraft are used for launching nuclear strikes on distant targets.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos. However, a Ukrainian intelligence official claimed that Ukraine’s internal intelligence agency, the SBU, conducted a massive drone assault, destroying more than 40 Russian military assets.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that among the destroyed assets were TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers. Moscow uses these bombers for launching long-range missile attacks on Ukraine.
Acknowledging the attack, the governor of Irkutsk stated that a military unit near the village of Sredny in the Usolsky district was hit by drones. However, he did not mention any strategic facility specifically.
The governor remarked that this is the first such attack in that Siberian region. He claimed the drones were launched from a truck but noted that the exact number of drones used was still unclear.
Open-source data from the Russian military indicates that TU-22M supersonic strategic bombers are stationed at the Belaya or Sredny airbase.
Additionally, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck another strategic base in Olenya, located in Russia’s Murmansk region, according to local officials.