Ukraine drones 'emerged from trucks' before strikes on bombers

Live Reporting

Edited by Jenna Moon & Jack Burgess

1. Zelensky's top aide posts spider web emoji in apparent reference to attackpublished at 15:49 British Summer Time

   15:49 BST

   On social media a little earlier, Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, made an apparent comment about his country's massive drone operation.

   Yermak posted an emoji of a spider web on both his Telegram channel and on X - an apparent reference to the attack's name of "Operation Spider's Web".

2. 

   Russia's major military assets shown to be vulnerablepublished at 15:29 British Summer Time

   15:29 BST

   Chris Partridge
   BBC News weapons analyst

   These attacks will have dealt a significant blow to Russia's aerial cruise missile strike capability.

   Tu-95 bombers, which are among the type of aircraft that have been destroyed, are said to have launched a large-scale Kh-101 missile attack on Ukraine earlier this year. They have been used extensively since the full-scale invasion of February 2022 and so are a vital target for the Ukrainian military.

   Each bomber can carry eight guided cruise missiles and each missile itself carries a 400kg (882lb) warhead. The weapons' range is thousands of kilometres, which allows such strategic aircraft to deploy well inside the relative safety of Russian airspace.

   Image source, Getty Images

   Image caption,

   A file photo shows a Tu-95 strategic bomber in Moscow - this type of aircraft is among those hit

   But just as significant is the reported loss of an A-50, the Russian equivalent of AWACS, whose role is to detect enemy aircraft and missiles, and feed those targets to Russian fighter jets. It performs a management role for aerial assets, by giving a big picture view and direction.

   As for the strikes themselves, the use of drones in at least one, so close to the targets means that traditional Russian self-defence systems such as S-300 / S-400 long range SAMs, and even their shorter-range counterparts, Pantsir SA-22s, are ineffective. It also means that there was little warning that such an attack was coming to get aircraft to the relative safety of hardened shelters.

   It may be that some of the Russian aircraft were not completely destroyed, and they can be repaired, but that still takes them - at the very least - out of the fight for a long time. More worrying for Moscow, it again points to the vulnerability of major military assets well inside Russian Federation territory itself.

3. 

   Zelensky oversaw attack on Russian airbases, Ukrainian security sources saypublished at 15:14 British Summer Time

   15:14 BST

   Paul Adams
   Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Kyiv

   Image source, Reuters

   Astonishing details have been leaked to the media about how this morning’s Ukrainian attack on at least four Russian airbases was organised.

   According to sources at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), “Operation Spider’s Web” took one year-and-a-half to organise and was personally overseen by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

   Sources say the SBU's first smuggled FPV drones into Russia, followed later by mobile wooden cabins.

   Once on Russian territory, the drones were hidden under the roofs of these cabins, which had been placed on to trucks. At the time of the attack, the roofs were remotely opened, allowing the drones to take off and hit the nearby airbases.

   Video has emerged showing drones emerging from the roof of one of the vehicles involved. Ukraine estimates the damage caused by the attacks at over $2bn (£1.5bn).

   The targets hit included TU-95s (the large strategic bomber known as “Bear”), TU-22M3s (supersonic long-range bomber) and A-50 (early warning and control aircraft).

   In a separate development Ukraine’s head of land forces, Maj Gen Mkyhailo Drapatyi, has tendered his resignation, following a Russian ballistic missile attack which hit a Ukrainian army training facility earlier today, in which 12 soldiers were killed.

4. Drones were launched from a truck, Siberian governor sayspublished at 14:58 British Summer Time

   14:58 BSTBreaking

   We have some more from Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev, who has said that the drones that attacked the military base in Sredniy, in Siberia, were launched from a truck.

   Kobzev posted on Telegram to say that the launch site had been secured and there was no threat to life.

   Russian media outlets have also reported that other attacks were similarly started with drones emerging from the backs of lorries.

5. Key developments in the last 24 hours: Russia claims sabotage as top Ukrainian army official quitspublished at 14:43 British Summer Time

   14:43 BST

   Let's recap some of the other developments from Russia and Ukraine in the last few hours.

   • Russian investigators have blamed sabotage for the collapse of two separate bridges near the Ukrainian border
   • In the Bryansk region, a road bridge collapsed, sending heavy trucks crashing down on to a moving passenger train and killing at least seven people
   • Pictures below show mangled carriages - officials say passengers helped each other climb out of the wreckage in the dark
   • Hours later in neighbouring Kursk, a railway bridge collapsed while a freight train was passing over it, injuring one of the drivers
   • Ukraine's military intelligence says a Russian military train has been derailed outside Melitopol, southern Ukraine
   • Without taking credit, the agency said an explosive device was set off as the train was passing, loaded with fuel and goods bound for occupied Crimea
   • In the last few moments the commander of Ukraine's land forces has announced he is resigning, citing a lethal strike on Ukrainian military training facility

   Media caption,

   Watch: Footage shows debris at collapsed bridge

6. 

   Ukraine has conducted audacious attacks on Russia before - but this is a new levelpublished at 14:21 British Summer Time

   14:21 BST

   Paul Adams
   Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Kyiv

   As Ukrainians digest today’s news, they are wondering if this is the most audacious attack on Russia yet.

   Four airfields attacked across a vast area of Russia and, according to Ukrainian sources, more than 40 aircraft were hit, including some of Moscow’s huge strategic bombers.

   Ukraine has attacked such aircraft before, but never on such a scale. Videos appear to show attack drones homing in on their targets as they sit on the tarmac.

   It’s not clear how the attack was orchestrated, but given the small size of the drones involved, it’s likely that it was launched from inside Russia.

   Earlier, Ukrainian and Russian officials gave differing accounts of two attacks on Russian trains, one of them carrying civilian passengers.

   Sources in Moscow spoke of Ukrainian terrorism, while a national security official here in Kyiv accused Russia of mounting a false flag operation to discredit Ukraine ahead of a round of peace talks due to take place in Turkey tomorrow.

   All this came as Russia launched one of its biggest drone and missile attacks so far, on targets across Ukraine - 472 drones were recorded, the largest number in a single night.

7. Image appears to show smoke from drone attack in Siberiapublished at 14:06 British Summer Time

   14:06 BSTBreaking

   Image source, Reuters

   The photo above comes from footage posted on social media by the Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev. He says it shows a the aftermath of a drone attack on a military unit in the village of Sredniy, in the Irkutsk region.

   Kobzev said that it was the first such attack in Siberia.

8. Strikes come ahead of further peace talks in Istanbulpublished at 14:04 British Summer Time

   14:04 BST

   The latest wave of drone strikes on the Kremlin's military assets comes hours before Russia and Ukraine are set for the next round of peace talks in Istanbul.

   Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said this morning that a delegation will be going to Turkey with the main aim of reaching a "complete and unconditional ceasefire".

   Meanwhile, Russian media is reporting that a Russian delegation has departed for the talks in Turkey.

9. What we know so far about the drone attackspublished at 13:56 British Summer Time

   13:56 BST

   We're still getting information about Ukraine's massive drone attack on Russian bomber planes.

   Here's a quick look at what we know so far:

   • Ukraine's security service says it has launched a major operation to destroy Russian strategic bombers
   • This campaign is targeting Russian planes on their home airbases - so far, Ukraine says it has hit 40 such locations, including in the Arctic
   • Video released by the service appears to show explosions and smoke rising from the sites

10. More than 40 Russian bomber aircraft hit in drone attack, Ukraine security service sayspublished at 13:35 British Summer Time

    13:35 BSTBreaking

    Paul Adams
    Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Kyiv

    Ukraine claims to have hit more than 40 Russian bombers, in what appears to be one of the most audacious attacks so far on Russian aviation.

    According to a statement from Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, “enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia”.

    It says Ukraine is conducting “a large scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft.” It says more than 40 aircraft have been hit.

    It has released dramatic video which it says shows a drone attack at the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, in Siberia. Bombers are under attack, with explosions visible and smoke rising.

    Reports suggest other aircraft have been attacked at the Olenya airbase, near Murmansk. Russian media is reporting the attack in Murmansk but says air defences are working. The attack in Irkutsk is also being reported.

    Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities say that 472 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles were involved in last night’s wave of attacks on Ukraine. This would appear to be one largest single Russian drone attacks so far. Ukraine says it neutralised 385 aerial targets.