To attack Russian air bases, Ukrainian spies hid drones in wooden sheds

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-stages-major-attack-russian-aircraft-with-drones-security-official-says-2025-06-01/

21 comments

  1. For those unable to read the article due to a paywall:

    KYIV, June 1 (Reuters) – Ukrainian secret services were able to attack strategic bomber aircraft at Russian air bases on Sunday by hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds, according to a Ukrainian security official and images posted online.

    Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, acknowledged that it carried out the attacks and said they caused considerable damage.

    The sheds were loaded onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases. The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely-activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, the official said.

    The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said strikes were conducted on Sunday on four air bases, and that 41 Russian warplanes were hit.

    An SBU statement posted on the Telegram messaging app estimated the damage caused by the assaults at $7 billion.

    “Thirty-four percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit,” the SBU said on Telegram.

    Unverified video and pictures posted on Russian social media showed Russian strategic bombers on fire at the Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region of Siberia.

    Igor Kobzev, the regional governor, said there had been a drone attack on a military unit near the village of Sredny, which is near the Belaya base, though he did not specify what the target was. He said the drones had been launched from a truck.

    The Irkutsk region attack was the first time a drone assault had been mounted by Ukraine so far from the front lines, which are more than 4,300 km (2,670 miles) away.

    That is beyond the range of the long-range strike drones or ballistic missiles Ukraine has in its arsenal, so required a special scheme to get the drones close enough to their target.

    Photographs shared with Reuters by the Ukrainian security official showed dozens of short-range quadrocopter drones piled up in an industrial facility. The official said these were the same devices used in the attack.

    Other images shared by the official showed the wooden sheds with their metal roofing panels removed, and the drones sitting in the cavities between roof beams.

    Separate video posted on Russian Telegram channels, which has not been verified by Reuters, appeared to show matching sheds on the back of a truck.

    The roof panels can be seen lying on the ground next to the truck, and the video footage shows at least two drones rising out of the top of the sheds and flying off.

    The Russian online media outlet that posted the video, Baza, said in a caption that it was filmed in the district near the Belaya air base.

    The Irkutsk region air base hosts Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic long-range strategic bombers, a type of aircraft that has been used to launch missiles against targets in Ukraine.

    The operation was code-named “Spider’s Web”, according to the Ukrainian security official, and was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU domestic intelligence agency.

    If confirmed, the strikes would be the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war, and would be a significant setback for Moscow.

    The source shared video footage shot from a drone, saying it showed one of the strikes. The images showed several large aircraft, some of which appeared to be Tu-95 strategic bombers, on fire.

  2. Someone should inform Putin that there is a non-zero chance that one of those trucks is still parked near the Kremlin or behind his home… Russia, it’s better if you surrender now while you still can.

  4. As Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 said, “The old drone in the shed roof trick, Third time this year!”
    Pretty cunning of Ukraine forces.

  5. “The White house was not warned, prior to the attacks”

    No, why the fuck would they tell Russia they are about to bombed

  6. I’ve seen estimated damages from $2-7 billion. That’s impressive, and certainly enough to raise eyebrows.

    Although I would have thought the casualty numbers would raise eyebrows and it hasn’t so who knows what these weirdos care about.

  8. Why is Ukraine telling everyone how this attack was planned and carried out?

  9. $7 billion in damage! Putin is going to have to do a lot more grifting.

  10. We’re moving closer to metalheads invading and terrorizing populations. All that’s needed is a mothership and AI drones with Image recognition

  11. It’s amazing how every time it starts to look like the tide is turning in Russia’s favour, Ukraine manages to pull an ace out of its sleeve.

  14. 1-2 Ukraines coming for you

    3-4 better lock your door

    5-6 better check your sheds…

  15. If someone can insert Putin into the Downfall meme video, it will be 2025’s meme of the year.

  17. This attack was awesome. Imagine the complete security failure and the people responsible. This will affect normal Russians now, they need to check everything. Well done Ukraine.

  18. Why not just.. not break the news about how they did it, so maybe they could do it again?

  19. More importantly they didn’t tell trump their plans

  20. Wait holy shit, is china doing this in the US with them buying up farmland near bases

  21. I was amused by the car tires on the wings of the aircraft.

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