Russia has hidden two of its most valuable warplanes in a remote airbase just days after a stunning Ukrainian drone strike wreaked havoc on its elite bomber fleet.
Satellite images have revealed that the pair of supersonic Tu-160 strategic bombers – each carrying a $500million price tag – have been relocated more than 4,000 miles from the warfront to Anadyr, an isolated Cold War-era airfield nestled on the desolate Chukotka Peninsula.
The dramatic retreat comes after Ukraine’s spy agency, the SBU, pulled off what has been dubbed Operation Spider’s Web on June 1.
It was a meticulously choreographed drone blitz that reportedly damaged several of Moscow’s rare strategic bombers – aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons and critical to Russia’s long-range strike capability.
In a slickly produced video released by the SBU, the daring mission was laid bare.
Cheap drones were smuggled into Russia in modified wooden cabins strapped to the backs of lorries, driven by unsuspecting civilians.
The drones were reportedly piloted by Ukrainian operatives housed in a building close to an office of Russia’s FSB security service and successfully evaded detection in a scathing indictment of Russia’s intelligence apparatus.
The drones were released near their targets and struck military airfields in a synchronised assault across three time zones, involving a staggering 117 drones.
Russia has scattered its most valuable warplanes to a remote airbase in the far east of the country, after a surprise Ukrainian drone attack devastated its strategic bomber fleet on June 1
Pictured: Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber takes off for patrol flight over the Arctic Sea at unidentified location in an image taken from video released January 17, 2023
Analysts have said the relocation of the Tu-160s is a clear sign that Moscow fears further precision strikes
The plan, which had been 18 months in the making and overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, targeted five airfields, but only four were hit.
One drone convoy reportedly suffered a premature explosion en route to a site in Russia’s Far East.
Despite Kremlin denials, military experts believe the damage is severe.
Sources inside Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed the operation crippled 34 per cent of Russia’s long-range strategic bombers, including the nuclear-capable Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s, often used to launch cruise missiles into Ukraine.
These planes, however, are no longer manufactured, and so cannot be replaced.
Footage showed decimated enemy planes in flames on the runway and Ukrainian security sources claimed to have taken out 41 aircraft worth some £1.5billion.
In drone footage, several Russian planes were seen erupting in a blaze as they soared over the Russian aircrafts.
As they continued their journey, the drones blasted the planes stationed ahead, sending them into a ball of fire.
Separate images revealed the destruction as plumes of black clouds billowed into the sky behind buildings as the attack was carried out.
Footage appeared to show black smoke at the scene on the Kola Peninsula following explosions at the secret base.
The first-person view (FPV) Ukrainian attack drones were smuggled into Russia in wooden containers disguised as modular homes
The vehicle had reportedly been driving along the Chita-Khabarovsk highway and caught fire while moving
Analysts have said the relocation of the Tu-160s is a clear sign that Moscow fears further precision strikes.
Professor Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for air power at the Royal United Services Institute, told the i newspaper that imagery from the Anadyr base could suggest Moscow was trying to reduce the risk of more drone attacks.
But while the American B-52 Stratofortress costs around $94million, the Russian Tu-160 dwarfs that figure at over five times the price.
Only 16 Tu-160s are believed to be operational, and the Kremlin has managed to assemble just two new ones since 2022, despite promises of more.
Western officials were quick to praise Ukraine’s bold strike on June 1. Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, compared the raid to a ‘reinvention of the Trojan Horse’, with new ‘technical and industrial creativity’.
Still, Russia is trying to project calm. Deputy Foreign Miister Sergei Ryabkov insisted on Wednesday that the country’s nuclear deterrence remains intact and that all damaged bombers ‘can and will be restored’.
Experts, however, say repairs could take years – if not longer – raising serious questions about Russia’s ability to project air power in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials claim that Moscow’s decision to launch a recent cruise missile attack using a Tu-160, which are normally reserved for only the most strategic missions, signals a potential shortfall in available Tu-95s and Tu-22s.
Operation Spiderweb was 18 months in the making and under the control of Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Ukrainian security service, the SBU.
Head of the Ukraine’s Security Service Vasyl Maliuk looks at a map of an airfield, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in an unknown location in Ukraine
Russian TU-95 Bear strategic bombers at the Olenya airbase on the Kola Peninsula being destroyed by Ukrainian drones thousands of miles away from the front line
Zelensky also noted its symbolic timing as the operation came exactly 29 years after Ukraine handed over its own strategic bombers to Russia as part of the ill-fated Budapest Memorandum, under which Moscow promised never to attack its neighbour.
‘We can say with confidence that this is an absolutely unique operation,’ he said in statement on social media, revealing that 117 drones were used to target bombers ‘used to fire at our cities.’
‘What’s most interesting, is that the ‘office’ of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions,’ he added.
‘In total, 117 drones were used in the operation, with a corresponding number of drone operators involved, and 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.’
He assessed that the attack on Putin’s irreplaceable bombers ‘will undoubtedly be in [the] history books’.
