Zelenskyy says audacious strikes on Russian airbases will go ‘in history books’
Ukraine’s president says his country’s attack on 40 bomber aircraft at multiple bases across Russia “will undoubtedly be in history books”.
Drones were smuggled into Russia and launched remotely off the back of trucks, security sources said.
It is one of the most audacious Ukrainian special operations since the start of Vladimir Putin’s war more than three years ago – and is a huge breach of Russia’s national defences.
In a further humiliation for the Kremlin, Ukraine’s president revealed that the “office” where the secret Ukrainian mission was conducted inside Russia was located next to a facility run by the Russian security services, the FSB.
“In total, 117 drones were used in the operation,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message posted on social media.
“And the corresponding number of drone operators were working. Thirty four percent of the strategic cruise missile carriers at the airfields were hit.
“Our people were operating in different Russian regions – in three time zones. And our people were withdrawn from the territory of Russia on the eve of the operation, and now they are safe – those who helped us.”
He added that Ukraine was defending itself and its operation “will undoubtedly be in history books”.
These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
Pic: SBU
The targeting of the bomber force will degrade the Russian military’s ability to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.
Videos shared with Sky News by Ukraine’s SBU Security Service purport to show a line of Russian strategic bombers with smoke billowing out of them.
“Enemy strategic bombers are massively burning in Russia – this is the result of a special SBU operation,” a security source said.
The operation – codenamed “spider’s web” – sounds more like a plot from a science fiction movie than reality, but it shows how new technology has transformed the battlefield.
It also reveals the vulnerability of large bases and expensive pieces of military equipment.
A security source said Ukrainian operatives smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia.
They then brought in a load of wooden, flat-pack, garden office-style containers.
These huts were constructed, with the drones hidden inside them, before being put on to the back of trucks and driven to locations from where the attacks were launched.
At the right moment, hatches on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely, and the drones were piloted onto their targets, according to the source.
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The drones were hidden in truck containers and the tops remotely lifted for the drones to be flown out. Pic: SBU Security Service
The source said the mission took one and a half years to plan and was supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sources said the individuals who took part in this special operation have been back in Ukraine for a long time.
They claimed that anyone detained in Russia by the Russian authorities would be just for show.
Offering details of the actual attack, a second source said four bases were targeted. It was not possible independently to confirm the claim.
“Right now, the Security Service of Ukraine is conducting a large-scale special operation to destroy enemy bombers in the rear of Russia,” the source said.
“The SBU drones are targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night. So far, more than 40 planes have been hit, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3.”
The Tu-95 and Tu-22 are both heavy bombers that can fire cruise missiles.
The locations of the Ukrainian targets
At least one of the videos shared with Sky News is purportedly of the Belaya airfield, more than 2,500 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Sources claimed to have inflicted more than $2bn (£1.4bn) worth of damage on the Russian air force.
“We are waiting for the details. And we hope that the number of hit aircraft will increase!” one source said.
The latest toll was 41 aircraft, according to Ukrainian sources.
The other Russian airbases targeted by Ukraine were: Diagilevo, Olenya and Ivanovo airfields.
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
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Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
World
Israel carries out fresh strike on Gaza and accuses Hamas of preparing ‘imminent terror attack’
The Israeli military says it has carried out a fresh strike on Gaza, in a move that will further raise concerns about the fragility of its ceasefire with Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted the strike on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
It said the site was being used to store weapons that it claimed were “intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers”.
“IDF soldiers in the southern command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” a spokesperson said.
People living in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered earlier strikes after claiming troops had come under fire. Pic: Reuters
It comes after hospital officials said at least 104 people, including 46 children, had been killed overnight in Gaza after Israel launched new strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an Israeli official reported that troops had come under fire in southern Gaza.
Israel claimed a soldier was killed on Tuesday afternoon by “enemy fire” in the southern city of Rafah.
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The decision also followed Hamas’s handover on Monday of body parts that Israel said belonged to a hostage whose remains were partly recovered earlier in the conflict.
Hamas has denied any role in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
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The recent ‘ferocious’ attacks are the deadliest strikes since the ceasefire agreement took hold earlier this month.
‘Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump had said the ceasefire was not at risk, telling reporters: “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier.”
He added: “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back. Nothing is going to jeopardise [the ceasefire].
“You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Following the latest strikes, the Israeli military said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. It added that it would respond firmly to “any violation”.
Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was not at risk. Pic: Reuters
‘Very disappointing and frustrating’
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the following airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Qatar had been leading peace efforts in Gaza, along with the US and Egypt.
At the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas militants had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007.
He added that Qatar had been pushing them to acknowledge that they need to disarm.
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