What happened
On 1 June 2025 Ukraine's Security Service launched small attack drones from trucks positioned near five Russian airbases, including Belaya in Irkutsk region and Olenya in Murmansk region, several thousand kilometres from Ukraine. The service said 41 aircraft were hit, among them Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers used in the strike campaign against Ukraine; independent imagery confirmed the destruction or damage of a smaller number, and Russia's Defence Ministry acknowledged attacks in two regions. The operation was announced the day before the second Istanbul round.
The deep-strike campaign's most consequential single action against the aircraft that fly the energy campaign, achieved with no long-range weapon at all. It demonstrated reach the module's range-based reading of the campaign does not capture, and it is the reason Russian bomber dispersal is read as a cost of the campaign rather than a precaution.
Confidence: High
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