Ukraine's stealthy strike: Drones disrupt Russian airfields

Journalist Jennifer Jacobs from CBS News reported on platform X that the Donald Trump administration was unaware of Ukraine's planned attack on Russian airports. "The White House wasn't aware that today's large-scale drone attack by Ukraine on the Russian military aircraft was coming," Jacobs wrote.

Ukrainians destroyed over 40 planes on Russian territory due to the Sunday attack, an anonymous Ukrainian security official told AP News. This attack occurred as Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine, a day before planned peace talks in Istanbul.

According to the source, the operation had been in the planning stages for over a year and a half and was personally overseen by Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky. The drones were transported in containers by trucks deep into Russian territory.

The targets of the attack included airports, including the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk region, located over 4,000 kilometers from Ukraine. This was the first instance of a Ukrainian drone appearing in this region, confirmed by local governor Igor Kobzev, who noted that it did not pose a threat to the civilian population.

At the same time, Russia conducted the biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, sending 472 drones into Ukraine. Russian forces also launched seven missiles, as stated by Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air forces. At least 12 soldiers were killed, and over 60 were injured due to a Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military training unit.

The Russian Ministry of Defence announced it had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities in Sumy ordered a mandatory evacuation in 11 additional localities in light of the advances of Russian forces in that area. Russia's main offensive efforts are concentrated on Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman in the Donetsk region and the border area with Sumy.