Ukraine’s military claims to have struck two fighter jets stationed at an airfield 400 miles into Russian territory, just days after launching its audacious Operation Spiderweb.
Kyiv did not say how the planes were hit in the fresh attack by Ukrainian special operations forces on the Savasleyka airfield, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. However, Russian war bloggers claimed there had been no damage to the warplanes.
It will cause further concern for Vladimir Putin after Ukraine destroyed swathes of his bomber fleet last month in a long-planned drone attack on Russian airbases.
The latest strike came as Ukraine welcomed home another group of prisoners from Russian captivity, in an exchange agreed last week in Istanbul and set to continue over the coming days.
Warning that “negotiations continue virtually every day”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person.”
The rare exchange follows Russia’s largest overnight drone bombardment of the war so far, with Ukrainian air forces reporting 479 drones and 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of the country.
‘Our people are home,’ Zelensky says as young POWs return from Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a celebratory post on X as he welcomed home prisoners of war that are wounded, severely wounded, and those under the age of 25 from Russian captivity.
He said: “Our people are home.Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity.
“Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days.
“Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25. The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day,” he said.
Analysis: As Putin ramps up his summer offensive in Ukraine, will he succeed?
Russia is stepping up its summer offensive both on the ground and in the air but support from Europe and sophisticated drone warfare could help Ukraine hold Moscow back.
“Not so, Dmitry Peskov pouted; the conflict is an “existential question” for Russia. “This is a question of our security and the future of ourselves and our children, the future of our country,” continued Putin’s spokesman, who has grown more accustomed to preening with pleasure at the relentless assaults on Ukraine from the White House this year.
“He is right. Victory for Russia was once defined as regime change in Kyiv. But it really need only be a messed up Ukraine, unstable, violent and impoverished.”
World affairs editor Sam Kiley takes a closer look.
Ranked: Russia’s biggest attacks of the war so far
According to Ukraine’s daily air force updates, these are some of the biggest attacks of the war so far:
- 499 drones and missiles reported 9 June
- 479 drones and missiles reported 1 June
- 452 drones and missiles reported 6 June
- 367 drones and missiles reported 25 May
- 364 drones and missiles reported 26 May
Ukraine’s drone attack halts work at electronic plant in Chuvashia, Russia says
A Ukrainian drone strike, among the deepest into Russia in more than three years of the war, forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga river region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said on Monday.
The strike, some 1,300 km (800 miles) from the border with Ukraine, caused no casualties, Chuvashia Governor Oleg Nikolayev said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
But “the responsible decision was made to temporarily suspend production to ensure the safety of employees” of the VNIIR enterprise where the drones fell, Nikolayev said.
It was not immediately clear whether the drones caused any damage. Nikolayev said that another drone fell onto some fields in the area of the capital of the region, Cheboksary.
Ukraine’s military said in a Telegram statement on Monday that “at least two drones” hit the VNIIR facility that specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs and high-precision weapons.
The Ukrainian military said the drone attack sparked a large -scale fire at the VNIIR plant.
Reports about the attack could not be independently verified.
Russia is already at war with Britain and we can no longer rely on Trump, defence adviser warns
Britain is already at war with Russia, one of the authors of the government’s strategic defence review has warned, while arguing that the UK can no longer rely on the US as a dependable ally.
Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Putin approves big revamp of Russia’s navy, Kremlin aide says
Russian president Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia’s position as one of the world’s leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview published yesterday.
Russia has the world’s third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, though the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.
Patrushev said the new naval strategy – entitled “The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050” – had been approved by Putin in late May.
“Russia’s position as one of the world’s greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering,” Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview.
“It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian Navy,” Patrushev said.
Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, though Russia is believed to have ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Kyiv ‘damages more fighter jets in nighttime raid’ after success of Operation Spiderweb
Ukraine’s military claims to have struck two fighter jets stationed at an airfield 400 miles into Russian territory, just days after launching its audacious Operation Spiderweb.
“According to preliminary information, two enemy aircraft (presumably MiG-31 and Su-30/34 aircraft) were struck,” the military said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Kyiv did not say how the planes were hit in the fresh attack by Ukrainian special operations forces on the Savasleyka airfield, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. However, Russian war bloggers claimed there had been no damage to the warplanes.
It will cause further concern for Vladimir Putin after Ukraine destroyed swathes of his bomber fleet last month in a long-planned drone attack on Russian airbases.
The latest strike came as Ukraine welcomed home another group of prisoners from Russian captivity, in an exchange agreed last week in Istanbul and set to continue over the coming days.
Flights halted at all airports serving Moscow, Russia says after Ukraine’s drone attacks
Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said early today it temporarily halted flights at all four major airports serving Moscow to ensure safety.
The alert of airport shutdown comes shortly after the defence ministry said Ukraine was carrying out a drone attack on Russia.
