The Olenya airbase in Murmansk and the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk were subjected to a massive drone attack, with local residents posting footage of explosions and fires.
Ukrainian sources report that the SBU (Ukraine’s security service) attacked four Russian military airbases simultaneously: Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo.
Shockingly, the attack was executed using FPV (First-Person-View) drones.
As kamikaze FPV drones struck Tu-95 strategic bombers parked in the open, reconnaissance drones filmed the attack in real-time. Footage appears to show the destruction of four Russian Tu-95 bombers at Olenya airbase.
One Il-76 airlifter was also set ablaze.
Easy Targets
Russian strategic aircraft are not parked in shelters. Instead, they sit exposed on the tarmac in clearly marked bays, making them easy to spot via US/NATO spy satellites.
For reasons that defy explanation, Russian Aerospace Forces continue to leave these critical assets in the open, fully visible and vulnerable to attack. This, despite having been in a war with Ukraine for over three years.
This is not the first time Ukrainian intelligence has used FPV drones, delivered by saboteurs, to strike Russian strategic assets. In March 2023, a saboteur launched a drone from outside the perimeter of the Machulishchi airbase in Belarus, damaging a Russian A-50U AWACS aircraft.
In summer 2023, Ukrainian forces attacked the Soltsy airfield in Novgorod region, destroying a Tu-22M3 bomber using quadcopter drones—reportedly without even relying on satellite communications. The Russian Ministry of Defense, unusually, acknowledged the loss.
Russian military bloggers and analysts have repeatedly warned of the dangers of parking aircraft in the open, yet the Russian military leadership has consistently ignored these concerns.
The Olenya Attack: A Deadly Ambush
In the Olenya attack, the FPV drones were launched from a hijacked truck, whose driver had been strangled to death. Before the strike, the attackers opened the cargo compartment of the truck and left. Based on the apparent rigor mortis of the driver’s body, he was likely killed many hours before the attack.
Ironically, when the attack began, passersby noticed drones emerging from the truck and tried unsuccessfully to destroy them with stones and sticks.
One of the launch trucks reportedly caught fire en route in the Amur region when someone entered the cargo hold to inspect it, triggering an explosion. These drones were apparently intended for the Ukrainka airbase—had they reached their target, the damage to Russian strategic aviation could have been far greater.
For context: Ukrainka Airbase is located in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian Far East, specifically in the Svobodny District near the town of Ukrainka, along the Amur River.
Meticulous Planning
Ukrainian sources claim the attack took 18 months to plan. Whether or not that timeline is accurate, the timing—on the eve of the next round of peace talks in Turkey—was no coincidence. Much of the detailed planning likely occurred more recently.
There’s little doubt, however, that the operation was meticulously prepared. The drones were likely placed inside the trucks in specially designed containers—their design and fabrication would have required significant effort, and their deployment likely involved multiple rehearsals.
Drone operators appeared highly familiar with the layout of the airbases. Video streamed from the drones shows careful target selection, with operators methodically flying their drones to precise impact points on the large bombers.
A post by Ukraine’s SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk during the operation suggests the planners knew the most vulnerable points on the aircraft they were targeting. It appears they anticipated that the aircraft would be armed for a mission at the time of the strike.
The drones were reportedly aimed at the underwing pylons of the Tu-95MS, where Kh-101 cruise missiles are mounted. The wings of aircraft ready for flight are loaded with fuel, making them highly flammable.
Conclusion
The Ukrainian attack is a spectacular political victory but a limited military success.
Russia has plenty of bombers—and, more importantly, missiles—to continue striking Ukraine.
Today’s attack was likely aimed at provoking Russia to withdraw from the Istanbul peace talks scheduled for tomorrow.
But it’s unlikely Russia will take the bait. As in the past, it will respond—harder, at a time and place of its choosing. Meanwhile, Russia will continue pressing its message to the Ukrainian leadership: peace now will be better for Ukraine than peace later.
Russia is steadily degrading Ukraine’s warfighting capability, especially its pool of combat-capable manpower. Its military-industrial base is in overdrive, and the size of its armed forces continues to grow. In the long run, Ukraine simply cannot win.
Zelensky’s move today was clever—a “heads I win, tails you lose” gambit, showcasing the boldness of Ukraine’s armed forces. It may help him cling to power, but it will not alter the course of the war. In the end, Ukraine will either surrender or sue for peace, after being ground down.
- Vijainder K Thakur is a retired IAF Jaguar pilot, author, software architect, entrepreneur, and military analyst.
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