Ukraine has launched one of its most audacious attacks of the war using a swarm of kamikaze drones unleashed from the backs of trucks to devastate two of Russias most major airfields.
Dubbed Operation Spiderweb, the co-ordinated strikes have left Vladimir Putin humiliated and his prized warplanes in smouldering ruins.
Two remote military airfields, Olenya in the Arctic Murmansk region and Belaya in eastern Siberia, were rocked by massive explosions overnight, with dramatic footage showing fires raging for hours.
The bases, located thousands of miles from Ukraine, are key to Russias nuclear strike capability and were considered untouchable.
Yet Ukraine appears to have struck them with deadly precision, using first-person-view (FPV) drones launched from unmarked vans parked near the airfields.
Both are thousands of miles from Ukraine but were under drone attack, with dozens of Moscows nuclear capable warplanes evidently destroyed.
Olenya airbase is home to Russias ageing fleet of Tu-95 Bear bombers – used both for conventional missile strikes and capable of launching nuclear weapons against the West. Several of the aircraft were reportedly left exposed in the open, despite repeated Ukrainian attacks on similar facilities.
Ablaze, too, was Belaya nuclear airbase in eastern Siberias Irkutsk region – some 2,900 miles from Ukraine.
More alarmingly, the strikes have triggered frenzied calls within Russias military circles for a nuclear response. Disabling strategic aircraft gives Russia the right to use nuclear weapons, declared pro-Kremlin war analyst Vladislav Pozdnyakov. Let me remind you.
Two major Russian airfields for Vladimir Putin s nuclear strike warplanes – one in the Arctic, the other in Siberia – were reported ablaze today following explosions
Russian war-channels immediately began calling for Putin to respond by using nuclear weapons
Ukraines SBU secret service was reportedly conducting a large-scale special operation to destroy Russian bombers
Russias nuclear doctrine allows for a nuclear response in the event of an attack on critical government or military infrastructure.
In particular, an enemy attack that disrupts the operation of nuclear forces, threatening Russias ability to respond could lead to Putin ordering an atomic strike.
Ukraines SBU secret service was reportedly conducting a large-scale special operation to destroy Russian bombers.
The Ukrainian media claimed more than 40 Putin aircraft had been hit, including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and A-50 strategic bombers.
The damage to the enemy was alleged to exceed £1.5billion.
A driver of a truck filled with drones that attacked Olenegorsk in Murmansk may not have known about the cargo, said a report.
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According to Baza media, the driver has been detained.
A truck stopped at a gas station at the entrance to the city… drones started flying out of the back of the truck and then attacked various objects, said a report.
A similar account was heard from Siberia but there are no official comments yet.
Ukraines Pravda Gerashchenko Telegram channel said: A special operation Web is being conducted to demilitarise Russia.
The [SBU] report the destruction of Russian bomber aircraft behind enemy lines.
In particular, the destruction of more than 40 aircraft, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3.
The audacious strike was described as Russias Pearl Harbour and the blackest day in aviation for the country by pro-Putin Telegram channels.
Kremlin cheerleaders immediately heaped blame on the West, and called for revenge strikes, including on Britain.
Pundit Sergei Mardan: The drones that attacked the Irkutsk region were launched from a truck.
Similarly, drones that flew out of a truck attacked objects in the Murmansk region.
Russian TU-95 Bear strategic bombers at the Olenya airbase on the Kola Peninsula being destroyed by Ukrainian drones thousands of miles away from the front line
Kremlin cheerleaders immediately heaped blame on the West, and called for revenge strikes, including on Britain
Its even interesting why no one in London, Berlin or at least in Tallinn is afraid that a swarm of drones will suddenly fly out of a truck parked in the area of a military facility.
The strike comes ahead of peace talks tomorrow due in Istanbul.
Rybar war channel in Russia said: The attack was carried out by FPV drones that were launched from vans that arrived at the facilities.
Control was conducted through repeaters installed there via satellite communications.
As we have previously said, the Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic aircraft have long been taken out of production, and there is nothing to restore them.
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Accordingly, these losses cannot be recovered.
This is without understatement a very serious damage to the strategic component, caused both by serious miscalculations in the work of intelligence services, and negligent attitude to aircraft, which even after all the attacks stood in the open field without shelter.
Unconfirmed reports indicated further strikes at Russias nuclear submarine base Severomorsk in the Arctic, headquarters of the Northern Fleet.
Footage appeared to show black smoke at the scene on the Kola Peninsula following explosions at the secret base.
It was unclear what had been hit.
Some reports said the footage showed Olenegorsk elsewhere in Murmansk region.
An astonishing video also showed how drones rose out of the back of a nondescript truck in Irkutsk region as attacks were launched on Putins strategic sites.
Ukraine evidently used drones from the back of trucks costing as little as £150 to £400.
They destroyed Putins fabled Tu-95MS bombers costing up to £70 million.
Russian Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk region, Siberia, was ablaze today after a suspected drone strike linked to Ukraine
This is the Russian Pearl Harbour. We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbour, or even harsher, said pro-war pundit Roman Alekhin.
Nuclear submarines carrying strategic missile weapons are based here at the high-security outpost.
The helplessness of Putins vast security forces was striking.
DshRG Rusich channel raged: Another disgrace… Lets see who will be held responsible for this: the FSB, the traffic police (which released the trucks for money), the bloggers who criticise this?
Despite the attack, Russian negotiators were reported to have flown to Istanbul for talks scheduled tomorrow.
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Reported said all 4 Tu-95MS aircraft located at the Olenya airfield were destroyed.
More than 95 strategic bombers and about 20 other military aircraft were under attack.
The strikes were carried out by FPV drones, which were manually controlled by UAV operators, said reports.
Two Majors military channel said: This is a direct undermining of the nuclear strategic balance of power.
This is a reduction in the nuclear security of our country.
And Kyiv is counting on an asymmetrical response of a non-nuclear nature.
We have been responding asymmetrically for four years now, the enemy has long studied us.
The channel called for a stronger response and so that there is no one to howl in Kyiv.
Unconfirmed reports said the driver of one of the drone trucks had been strangled after he was detained.
