Ukraine's covert drone strike caught Trump administration off guard

Journalist Jennifer Jacobs from CBS News reported on platform X that the Donald Trump administration was unaware of Ukraine's intended 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 attack on Sunday, an anonymous Ukrainian security official told AP News. This attack occurred as Russia launched a large missile and drone assault on Ukraine, a day before scheduled 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 Zelenskyy. The drones were transported in containers by trucks deep into Russian territory.

The targets of the attack included airports, such as the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk region, located over 4,000 kilometres from Ukraine. This marked the first occurrence of a Ukrainian drone 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 largest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, sending 472 drones into Ukraine. Russian forces also launched seven missiles, as reported by Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air forces. At least 12 soldiers were killed, and over 60 were injured in 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 due to the advances of Russian forces in that area. Russia's main offensive efforts are focused on Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman in the Donetsk region and the border area with Sumy.