L608-RUSIA ATAQUE UCRANIA

STORY: Eyewitness footage on Sunday (June 1) showed drones flying out of a truck parked in the vicinity of and airfield in Russia's Irkutsk region.

Reuters was able to confirm the location by the road layout, poles and signage in the video which matched file and satellite imagery of the area. The smoke seen in the video is in the direction of the Belaya air base. The date when the video was filmed could not be independently verified. However, Russian officials confirmed attacks on Sunday (June 1). Ukrainian security sources also said to Reuters they conducted a drone attack in the area.

Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, acknowledged that it carried out the attacks codenamed “Spider’s Web” and said they caused considerable damage which it estimated at $7 billion.

A Ukrainian security official said 41 planes on four bases were hit, which Reuters could not verify but the Russian defense ministry confirmed aircraft were damaged and set on fire.

It said no casualties were reported and some of the individuals involved in the attacks were detained.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskiy praised the operation.

The Ukrainian security official said explosive-laden drones were hidden inside trucks that were parked near the Russian bases and the drones were then activated remotely.

Ukraine’s long-range strike drones or ballistic missiles don’t have the range to reach targets this far away which required the approach used here.

Zelenskiy said the operation had taken more than a year and a half to prepare.