Ukraine War Briefing: Satellite Pictures Show Russian Warplanes Prey to Operation Spiderweb
Satellite images obtained by Reuters have revealed the devastating impact of Ukraine’s recent drone strike on a Russian airbase, with several strategic bombers destroyed or badly damaged. The images, provided by Capella Space, a satellite company, show the aftermath of Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, which targeted at least four airbases across Russia using 117 unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to The Guardian, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) pictures of the Belaya military airbase in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, taken on June 2, appear to show the debris of several aircraft located along the runway or parked in protective revetments nearby. John Ford, a research associate at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said the images showed what appeared to be the remnants of two destroyed Tu-22 Backfires – long-range, supersonic strategic bombers that have been used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.
The SAR image, as well as drone footage of the strikes posted on social media, also indicated that four strategic heavy Tu-95 bombers had been destroyed or severely damaged, Ford added. Brady Africk, an open source intelligence analyst, agreed that the SAR imagery of Irkutsk airbase showed several Tu-95s and Tu-22s had been destroyed and damaged, although more imagery was needed to properly assess the impact. "But it is clear that the attack on this airbase was very successful," he said. "The aircraft targeted in the attack were a mix of Tu-22 and Tu-95 bombers, both of which Russia has used to launch strikes against Ukraine."
In a separate development, Ukraine on Tuesday detonated a massive underwater blast that "severely damaged" the base of pylons holding up the illegally built Kerch Bridge, which connects the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula of Ukraine to Russia. According to The Guardian, the signature project of Vladimir Putin was hit with the equivalent of more than a metric tonne of TNT, said Kyiv’s SBU security service. The Kerch Bridge is heavily protected, and Ukraine’s ability to place explosives directly on its underwater structure, coming after Operation Spiderweb, is the second grave embarrassment for Putin and Russian security services in three days.
The attacks came a day after direct peace talks in Istanbul made no progress on ending the fighting – and as Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s former prime minister and proxy president now on Russia’s security council, strongly suggested there was no sincere effort from the Kremlin’s side. "The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else’s delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction [of Ukraine’s government]," he said. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posted that the "completely deliberate" strike on civilians was "all you need to know about Russia’s ‘desire’ to end this war".
In response to the ongoing conflict, Britain pledged on Wednesday to supply 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026. The £350m package is part of a broader £4.5bn military support initiative that the UK defence secretary, John Healey, will make at a 50-nation Ukraine defence contact group meeting in Brussels co-hosted with Germany. For the first time since the group was created, the US defence secretary – currently Pete Hegseth – will not be there when all the other defence ministers meet.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said that at their latest talks in Istanbul "the Russian side passed a set of old ultimatums that do not move the situation any closer to true peace". Russia meanwhile ignored a request to comment on Ukraine’s ceasefire proposals, he said. "We demand Russia’s reply. Each day of silence from them proves their wish to continue the war." Lt Gen Vasyl Maliuk, of the SBU, who supervised the latest operation, described the Kerch Bridge as "an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops … Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will receive our tough response".
As reported by The Guardian, a Russian attack killed at least four people and wounded 25 in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, officials said. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posted that the "completely deliberate" strike on civilians was "all you need to know about Russia’s ‘desire’ to end this war". Russia also fired rocket artillery at Chystovodivka village in the Kharkiv region, killing two people and injuring three others, said the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, posted after meeting Trump envoy Keith Kellogg on Tuesday: "[Russia is] playing for time, manipulating the talks, trying to avoid US sanctions and not wanting a ceasefire."
Source: The Guardian.
