In Siberia, at the military base «Belaya» in the village of Sredny, Usolsky District, Irkutsk Region, a drone attack destroyed at least one transport aircraft. An eyewitness from the village of Buret, Usolsky District, told «Siberia.Realii» that the attack lasted at least an hour and a half.
According to eyewitnesses, the drones flew out of a truck that stopped on the R-255 «Siberia» highway. The information was confirmed by the governor of the Irkutsk region, noting that this is the first drone attack in Siberia.
«There were four planes standing at the edge of the airfield, and the drone hit the leftmost one,» a resident of the village near the airfield told the publication. «Before all four explosions, it looked like a signal rocket was launched, then there was a fiery flash and a loud bang followed. I learned about the three bombers (at the Olenya airbase in the Murmansk region) from the news. It was literally a fiery hell there.»
In local public forums, residents discuss the progress of the «special military operation» that has reached Siberia. «It's the fourth year of the war, what will happen in the fifth year? If you can't fight, make peace, don't embarrass yourselves,» wrote one of the residents of the Irkutsk region.
«This is no longer sad, and it's not funny. There is no censored definition for this, there is no coherent explanation at all. If as a result of 'hooliganism' with cheap kamikaze drones we are losing strategic bombers, then I have a strong feeling that firstly, this is a complete fiasco of the country's military leadership, and secondly — another year of such a SMO, and Russia will find itself demilitarized,» another comment cited by «Siberia.Realii».
Eyewitnesses from Olenegorsk reported to the editorial office that they observed at least 10 explosions at the airbase.
«War has started in Olenegorsk. Smoke is pouring from explosions beyond the forest. We are standing on the highway, a little further away at a gas station there is a truck: the driver is running around frantically, drones are flying out from under his truck, from the tarp, and heading towards Vysoky. The traffic police detained him, and he told them: 'I was told to come to the point, so I came.' There is shooting around, like from machine guns. Communication is still available,» an eyewitness reported.
Two weeks before the attack on the Olenya airfield, about 40 long-range bombers Tu-22M3 and approximately 20% of all Russian Tu-95MS were transferred there. This is the largest relocation of strategic aviation since the beginning of the conflict, wrote the Telegram channel INSIDER-T.
The analytical publication Clash Report reports that unconfirmed losses as a result of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian airbases «Belaya» and «Olenya» are five Tu-95MS bombers, two Tu-22M3 bombers, and one An-12 military transport aircraft.
Experts note that all strikes were exclusively on military targets and currently there is no information about civilian casualties. The damage is preliminarily assessed as significant — the destruction of transport aircraft will greatly reduce the ability of the Russian army to strike Ukraine with cruise missiles. Officially, the Russian authorities have not yet reported any losses.
On June 1, several regions of Russia experienced a drone attack for the first time during the war. In the Irkutsk, Murmansk, Ryazan, and Ivanovo regions, drones struck airbases.
Vladimir Zelensky reported that 117 drones were used during the operation «Spider». «It can be said with confidence that this is an absolutely unique operation. The most interesting thing — and it can already be said publicly — is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to the FSB management in one of their regions,» said the President of Ukraine.
Zelensky confirmed the SBU information that 34% of strategic missile carriers were hit.
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