Aftermath of Ukraine drone strike on Russian bombers seen in satellite photos
Satellite images of Russian air bases released Wednesday appear to show the aftermath of what Ukraine called "Operation Spider's Web" — a long-planned drone attack deep inside Russian territory, which Ukrainian security officials claim destroyed 41 military bombers.
Debris and what appear to be burn scars, along with some intact aircraft, can be seen in photos of Belaya and Oleya air bases, which were provided by Maxar Technologies, an American space technology company.
Some of the aircraft were untouched and seemed to have unusual items placed on top of them, close-ups of the images show.
SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk said in a statement that Ukraine hit aircraft at four Russian bases, inflicting more than $7 billion worth of damage on Russia's bomber fleet over the weekend. CBS News has not been able to confirm the full extent of the damage.
Russia has claimed Ukraine's estimates are exaggerated.
The Russian Defense Ministry said several warplanes at air bases in the Irkutsk and Murmansk regions were set on fire during the attack, but the fires were extinguished, according to The Associated Press. It also said Ukraine unsuccessfully tried to hit two air bases in western Russia and another in the Amur region, in Russia's Far East, AP reported.
The attacks come as delegates from the two countries meet in Istanbul for the second round of negotiations in a bid for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had no public response to the attack before Wednesday, when he spoke to President Trump by phone for over an hour.
"We discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides," Mr. Trump wrote on social media. "It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields."
A Kremlin spokesperson said Tuesday that Putin was updated in real time about the attack, but is waiting for the results of an investigation into the assault.
