Ukraine launched two major suicide drone strikes that destroyed one of Putin’s prized nuclear bombers in a spectacular fireball and caused major damage to a train station used to supply the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
New footage from the strike on Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region shows one of the Russian nuclear bombers being swallowed by a massive fireball.
The smoke billowing from the fireball was visible for miles around.
The Russian Defense Ministry tried to downplay the significance of the attack, saying only one of the bombers was hit:
“The kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack using a helicopter-like drone on a military airfield in the Novgorod region.
“As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the aircraft parking lot, which was quickly eliminated by firefighters.
New footage of the strike on Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region shows one of the Russian nuclear bombers being swallowed by a huge fireball
Smoke from the fireball that consumed the supersonic bomber could be seen for miles around
“One plane was damaged, but there were no casualties as a result of the terrorist attack,” he added.
But Ukrainian sources denied this claim, saying two Tu-22M3 bombers were badly damaged.
On top of that, the Institute for the Study of Warfare said a Russian insider told them the fire damaged at least two planes.
Russian media have since reported that at least six of the supersonic bombers have been moved to Olenya airbase, nearly 1,000 miles away.
The attack on the popular bomber came a day before a major railway station was also attacked in a suspected Ukrainian suicide drone strike.
There was a fire and damage to the roof and facade of Kursk station on a line used to transport weapons, troops and ammunition for Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine.
Footage showed the timing of the attack, with drone attacks also reported in Moscow and the Rostov region.
The Russians claimed that the drone was disrupted by air defenses and that it was debris that fell on the roof of the station, starting a fire.
Five people were reportedly injured by shards of glass, regional governor Roman Starovoit said.
In the Rostov region, two drones hit a military base in Kamensk, regional governor Vasily Golubev said.
Another drone hit Novochakhtinsk in the same area.
The total damage caused by the strikes was not immediately clear.
In Moscow, aircraft-style suicide drones targeting the capital were shot down using electronic warfare equipment, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said: “At night an attempt was made to fly a drone towards Moscow from a southern direction.
Footage showed the timing of the attack, with drone attacks also reported in Moscow and the Rostov region
The total damage caused by Ukraine’s kamikaze strikes was not immediately clear
The Russians claimed that the drone was disrupted by air defenses and that it was debris that fell on the roof of the station, starting a fire.
Ukraine claimed it would bring the war ‘to Russian territory’
Ukraine plans to target Russia’s ‘symbolic centers and military bases’ with attacks
The attack on the Kursk railway station took place as several drones struck military targets in the Rostov region
“He was arrested by the air defense forces.”
The attacks, which were both recorded on tape, come just weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “war is returning to Russian territory”.
He said in late July during one of his late-night speeches to Ukrainian citizens that the country’s military would target Russia’s “symbolic centers and military bases”.
“This is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” he added.
A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman added at the time that the Russians were already dealing with the backlash of the invasion.
“All the people who think the war ‘doesn’t concern them’ – it already affects them,” Yurii Ihnat said in late July.
“There is already a certain mood in Russia: let something happen, and strong. There is no longer any question of peace or calm inside Russia. They got what they wanted. ‘
