«European Truth» reported, citing sources in NATO, that the drone attack on Russian military airfields was the «most successful operation». «We see that at least 40 aircraft were damaged. From 10 to 13 aircraft completely destroyed», — one of the sources told the publication, noting that the calculations were made by the Alliance, not based on Ukrainian data.
Among the damaged Russian aircraft, NATO identified 15 strategic bombers Tu-95, 20 Tu-22 aircraft, and at least one A-50 AWACS aircraft, of which there are only a few in the Russian army's arsenal.
According to NATO estimates, the attack destroyed 34% of Russia's available missile carriers. At the same time, the source noted that some of the damaged and destroyed aircraft could have been used as «spare parts donors» and not performing combat missions.
«We cannot confirm that all of them were fully operational... This also does not destroy Russia's ability to carry out air strikes, but it certainly reduces Russia's capability to conduct missile strikes, including those that, as Ukrainians know, occur early in the morning», — the interlocutor of the publication stated.
The SBU today published new footage of the attack on Russian military bases on June 1, stating that as a result of the special operation «Web», personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelensky, and implemented by SBU Chairman Vasyl Maliuk, 41 Russian aircraft were hit.
«A significant part of them is irretrievably destroyed, and some damaged aircraft will be restored for many years. In particular, the footage captures the strikes of SBU fpv-drones on four airfields: «Olenya», «Ivanovo», «Dyagilevo», and «Belaya». It was there that the strategic aviation, which regularly bombards peaceful Ukrainian cities, was based. Among the affected aircraft are A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, as well as An-12 and Il-78».
It is noted that during the operation, modern UAV control technology was used, combining autonomous artificial intelligence algorithms and manual operator intervention. Some UAVs, due to signal loss, switched to mission execution using artificial intelligence on a pre-planned route. The SBU also reminded that the estimated cost of the affected equipment exceeds 7 billion dollars.