[Source/Observer Network Xiong Chaoyi] Local time on June 1, Ukraine announced that it had used drones to attack five Russian air force bases, claiming to have destroyed or damaged more than 40 strategic aircraft of Russia, which was described as "joyful".
Local time on June 4, Reuters exclusively reported citing two US officials that the US assessed that Ukrainian drones hit about 20 Russian aircraft in this attack, destroying approximately 10 of them, which is about half the number claimed by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Despite this, US officials still considered the attack "significant". One official warned that this might lead Russia to take a tougher stance in ceasefire negotiations mediated by the US.
On June 1 local time, video screenshots released by the Ukrainian Security Service showed multiple aircraft on fire at the Belokurikha Air Base in Siberia. Video screenshot.
On June 1 local time, Ukrainian drones attacked military airports in the Murmansk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblast, Ivanovo Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, and Amur Oblast. According to The Kiev Post, Ukraine's operation in this action was codenamed "Spider Web", destroying or damaging more than 40 strategic aircraft of Russia, including A-50 AWACS aircraft, Tu-95 strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers.
On the same day, Zelenskyy praised this attack as "very successful" and "well-prepared." He claimed that Ukraine used 117 drones, destroying more than one-third of Russia's cruise missile carriers, and safely evacuated personnel involved in the attack before the strike began. He also told reporters in Kyiv that out of the 41 Russian aircraft hit, half were severely damaged and could not be repaired.
The Ukrainian Security Service estimated that the implementation of this "Spider Web" special operation caused Russia's strategic aviation to suffer losses of up to $7 billion. The Kiev Post said this was one of the most ambitious drone operations by the Ukrainian Security Service so far, marking a significant enhancement of Ukraine's long-range strike capability.
However, Reuters pointed out that the number of Russian aircraft damage estimated by the US was much lower than the figure provided by Zelenskyy.
The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the attack on its large fleet but did not specify how many aircraft were damaged. On June 1 local time, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Ukraine used drones to launch terrorist attacks on airports in several regions of Russia that day. The attacks caused multiple aircraft to catch fire in the Irkutsk Oblast and Murmansk Oblast, with no casualties reported. Several participants in the terrorist attack were arrested.
Later on the evening of June 1 local time, the "War Against Falsehoods" (warfakes) website on Russia's "Telegram" account posted an article refuting this, stating that through analyzing videos released by the Ukrainian side, it can be confirmed that Zelenskyy's claim of "destroying 34% of Russia's long-range fleet" is entirely false. Ukraine's actions should be called the "Web of Lies."
According to reports from Reuters and the US military news website "The War Zone" on June 2 local time, commercial satellite images using radar imaging (SAR) show that currently four Tu-95 bombers and four Tu-22M3 bombers were hit and damaged at the Irkutsk Bereya base, and four Tu-95s and one transport aircraft were damaged at the Murmansk Olenya base. The total loss for the Russian military is 13 large aircraft, including eight Tu-95 bombers.
Commercial satellite images show that at least four Tu-95s were damaged at the Irkutsk Bereya base, as shown in the image of the Irkutsk base on May 31. Social media
Location of the Tu-95 hit by Ukrainian forces. Social media
In addition to these two bases, there were no signs of attacks on other Russian bases. The latest satellite image of the Gzhatsk Air Base in the Ryazan Oblast shows that Ukraine's drones did not cause substantial damage there. The only visible thing is the burn mark on the grass on the right side of the photo. It is likely the wreckage of a downed or electronically suppressed drone that fell there. This airbase has three Tu-95MS strategic bombers, five Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, 14 Il-78M tankers/Il-76 transport planes, and two Su-30SM fighters.
All six Tu-160s at the Irkutsk Bereya base were on the airport during the attack, but none were hit. Social media
The Washington Post reported that before Russian officials and state media commented on the attack, the group of influential hawks, military journalists, and propagandists known as the "Z Community" had already described this attack as the "Russian version of the Pearl Harbor Incident," with some even calling for retaliatory actions.
"We hope our counterattack will be even more severe than America's response to the Pearl Harbor incident," wrote Roman Alekhin, a military blogger with 174,000 followers on Telegram. Another military blogger, "Two Majors," wrote: "This is not just an excuse but a reason to launch a nuclear strike against Ukraine."
Keith Kellogg, US Special Envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, believed that the risk of escalation in the conflict was "significantly increasing," especially after Ukraine recently attacked one part of Russia's "nuclear triad" (land-based, air-based, and sea-based nuclear weapons).
"In the field of national security, when you attack a part of your opponent's survival system, namely their nuclear triad, it means that the level of risk increases because you don't know what the other side will do," Kellogg said during an interview with Fox News on June 3.
On June 4, Russian presidential press secretary Peskov stated that Russian President Putin had a telephone conversation with US President Trump that day. Russian presidential aide Ushakov stated on the same day that the leaders of both countries agreed to continue contacts regarding the Ukraine issue during the call.
Putin also introduced Ukraine's attempts to sabotage negotiations and its deliberate attacks on civilian facilities during the negotiation period. Trump responded that the US was unaware of Ukraine's plan to attack Russian airports beforehand.
Trump revealed on social media that he had spoken with Putin for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes that day. He mentioned that they discussed the attack on Russian airports by Ukraine and various recent attacks. Putin "firmly stated" that Russia would respond to the airport attacks.
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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512353440597688841/
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