Ukraine claims to have hit 34% of Russia's strategic bombers

By Davit Kachkachishvili and Serdar Dincel

KYIV, Ukraine/ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Sunday claimed to have destroyed 34% of Russian strategic bombers capable of carrying strategic cruise missiles during attacks on military air bases in Russia.

Ukrainian forces attacked Russia's military airfields with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the SBU said in a statement.

The SBU carried out a special operation called "Spider Web," causing $7 billion in damage to Russia's strategic aviation, the statement said.

Earlier, the SBU said its forces conducted a "large-scale" attack on Russia and that over 40 strategic bombers were destroyed in the strike using drones in various regions, including the Siberian region of Irkutsk, whose administrative center is more than 4,300 kilometers (2,670 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The attack targeted four airfields at once, including Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya, according to the report.

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement later on Sunday claiming that the attacks on three bases failed, while some planes at other airfields caught fire and were extinguished.

Ukraine targeted airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, the ministry said.

Attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions were repulsed, according to the statement.