Footage shows aftermath of planes destroyed in Russian airbase drone blitz

WorldPolitics
1 Jun 2025 • 10:08 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Footage shows the aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian airbase on Sunday.

Based in the Murmansk region of northern Russia, the Olenya airbase is home to strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-22M, which are frequently used to launch cruise missile attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine.

Video footage appears to show black smoke rise from multiple Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers damaged in the drone strike.

More than 40 Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in a large-scale drone attack across multiple sites, a Ukrainian official has said.

Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine, were among the planes struck by Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, an SBU source told Reuters. The report could not be independently verified.