A surprise Ukrainian drone attack is being described as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” by some commentators, after 41 military aircraft were hit on Sunday.’
Newsweek reached out to the White House and U.S. State Department on Sunday for comment by email outside of normal business hours.
Why It Matters
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and mediated by the United States, have remained in a delicate position for months as both sides continue to attack each other despite engaging in discussions to agree a peace deal.
President Donald Trump has regularly voiced his frustration with both his counterparts Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, particularly with what Trump has perceived as a potential lack of interest in actually attaining a peace deal.
Zelensky during an explosive argument with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office argued that Russia had already blown up previous deals made with Ukraine, and Trump has questioned whether Putin is just “tapping him along” and drawing out negotiations while seeking to prolong the conflict.
What To Know
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said on Sunday that “enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia”, saying that Ukraine is conducting “a large scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft,” Euro News reported.
The Ukrainian attack follows ground advances by Moscow troops in recent days in Ukraine’s Sumy border region.
Administration sources told CBS News on Sunday that the White House was not aware that an attack was coming.
Video on Telegram and from SBU handout show the damage to planes and airfields at undisclosed locations across Russia after Ukraine launched a surprise drone attack at four bases that destroyed 41 planes.
Video on Telegram and from SBU handout show the damage to planes and airfields at undisclosed locations across Russia after Ukraine launched a surprise drone attack at four bases that destroyed 41 planes.
Ukrainian security service/AP // Governor of Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev on Telegram
The attack has prompted Russian military experts to demand a strong and swift response, including “tactical nuclear strikers” on Ukraine after “Russia’s Pearl Harbor,” as military blogger Roman Alekhin described it.
The Russian Defense Ministry in a statement to TASS News Agency said: “Today, the Kiev regime staged a terror attack with the use of FPV drones on airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions. All terror attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions were repelled.”
“No casualties were reported either among servicemen or civilians. Some of those involved in the terror attacks were detained,” the statement continued. “As a result of the launch of FPV drones from territories in the exact proximity to military airfields in the Murmansk and Irkutsk Regions, several aircraft caught fire. The fires were extinguished.”
Ukraine’s domestic security agency the SBU claimed responsibility, with one Ukrainian security official saying the agency loaded up drones into wooden sheds near the perimeter of the impacted air bases. The sheds had remote-controlled mechanisms to pull back the roofs and allow the drones to launch, Reuters reported.
SBU also wrote on Telegram that “34 percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on May 28, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. // In this pool photograph distributed by the…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on May 28, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. // In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 30, 2025.
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Sean Gallup/Getty Images // Pavel Byrkin / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X: “Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk delivered a report regarding today’s operation. An absolutely brilliant result. A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time.”
“I thanked General Maliuk for this success of Ukraine,” Zelensky continued. “I instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to inform the public about the details and results of the operation that can be disclosed. Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books. Ukraine is defending itself, and rightly so – we are doing everything to make Russia feel the need to end this war. Russia started this war, Russia must end it. Glory to Ukraine!”
What Happens Next
Russia and the U.S. have yet to respond, but their next actions will likely determine the path that any future talks will take.
Update 6/1/25, 3:01 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information, context and comments.
Update 6/1/25, 3:38 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional photos.