Kyiv/Brussels, June 5: Satellite images released after a major Ukrainian drone operation reveal severe damage to Russian strategic bombers at a Siberian airbase, as Kyiv also claimed responsibility for a powerful underwater explosion that hit the Russian-built Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia.
Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb,” launched over the weekend, targeted at least four Russian airbases using 117 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Satellite company Capella Space provided imagery to Reuters showing significant damage at Belaya airbase in Irkutsk, including debris from what analysts identified as two destroyed Tu-22 Backfire bombers and up to four Tu-95s – heavy bombers frequently used by Russia to launch missile strikes into Ukraine.
“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,” said Brady Africk, an open-source intelligence analyst. He noted that decoy aircraft stationed at the base appeared to have failed in misleading the drones.
The strike marked a rare and deep penetration into Russian territory, demonstrating Ukraine’s growing capability to strike strategic assets far from the frontlines.
Just days later, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said it had detonated a massive charge beneath the Kerch Bridge, damaging underwater support pylons. The bridge, a pet infrastructure project of Russian President Vladimir Putin, connects the Russian mainland to the annexed Crimean peninsula and is a key military supply route.
SBU chief Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk called the structure “a legitimate military target” and vowed continued action. “Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will receive our tough response,” he said.
The attack comes after two earlier strikes on the bridge – a truck bombing in October 2022 and a naval drone attack in July 2023 – both of which forced temporary closures.
In Ukraine’s northeast, Russian missile and artillery attacks killed at least six civilians on Tuesday. A strike in Sumy killed four and injured 25, while another in Kharkiv’s Chystovodivka village left two dead and three wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Sumy attack as a “completely deliberate” act, dismissing Russian claims of seeking peace.
The violence followed another fruitless round of peace talks in Istanbul, where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of stonewalling efforts to reach a ceasefire. “The Russian side passed a set of old ultimatums that do not move the situation any closer to true peace,” said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Russia has not commented on Ukraine’s latest ceasefire proposals. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior security official, signaled Moscow’s hardline stance, saying the talks were not about compromise but “ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction” of Ukraine’s government.
Meanwhile, the UK announced a new £350 million military package for Ukraine, including the delivery of 100,000 drones by April 2026. The pledge is part of a broader £4.5 billion support plan, Defence Secretary John Healey said ahead of a 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels.
The summit, co-hosted with Germany, will mark the first time since its inception that the U.S. defence secretary – currently Pete Hegseth – will be absent from the gathering.
