On June 1, 2025, SBU drones attacked four Russian military airfields. Dozens of cruise missile launchers were destroyed or damaged.
Points of attention
- Ukrainian drones launched a targeted attack on Russian military airfields, causing significant damage to cruise missile launchers and strategic bombers.
- Satellite images captured the destruction at the Belaya airfield, revealing the devastation of Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers following the drone strike.
- The unprecedented strike by Ukrainian drones targeted multiple Russian airfields, including Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo, aiming to cripple the strategic bomber capabilities of the Russian forces.
Satellite images of the consequences of the drone attack on the Belaya airfield have appeared
On June 1, four Russian military airfields came under drone attacks, namely Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo.
Of particular interest to Ukrainians was the destruction of the Belaya airfield, which is located more than 4,500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
It was there that most of the Tu-95MS, which launched Kh-101 cruise missiles over the territory of Ukraine, were recently redeployed.
It is known that as of May 31, the following were at the Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region:
39 Tu-22M3;
30 MiG-31;
7 Tu-160;
6 Tu-95MS;
2 Il-78M;
6 An-26;
2 An-12
Eyewitnesses previously said that more than 10 explosions were heard, and now a satellite photo has emerged showing the extent of the destruction.
Today, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly launched 117 attack drones from trucks that had been placed near Russian air bases. I tasked several collects this morning via @umbraspace and my first images have already started processing. What a remarkable success in a well-executed… pic.twitter.com/LzXulw8jnK
— Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) June 2, 2025
OSINT analyst Chris Biggers published satellite images of the Belaya airfield in the Irkutsk region on the morning of June 2, after the strike by Ukrainian drones. They were taken using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
The photographs show that 4 Tu-95 strategic bombers and the same number of Tu-22s were destroyed at the airbase.
Combined with the drone videos published by the SBU, we can summarize the overall picture of the unprecedented Ukrainian strike on Russian military airfields.
According to the calculations of the social network user X Intelshizo, a total of: were destroyed at the Belaya and Olenya airfields:
7 Tu-95 strategic bombers (one more damaged)
4 Tu-22 strategic bombers
1 An-22 military transport aircraft
Recall that on June 1, 2025, the SBU, together with other units of the Defense Forces, conducted a large-scale special operation called "Cobweb", aimed at destroying Russian military airfields where strategic bombers are based.
At least four military airfields in Russia were hit, including in the Irkutsk, Murmansk, Ryazan, and Ivanovo regions.
