Originally published at: Ukraine Drone Attack Decimates Russian Bomber Force - AVweb
More than 40 bombers destroyed in audacious coordinated assault.
Solid reporting and one hell of a wake-up call. It looks like Ukraine just rewrote the playbook on asymmetric warfare. Forty one Russian bombers gutted in a single night. That is not just retaliation. That is art.
But then comes Irkutsk. And that is where this turns from military strike to spy novel. Irkutsk is not a border base. It is twenty five hundred miles deep inside Russian territory. Past forests, rivers, terrain most would think is unreachable. And yet the drones were already there. Waiting.
Hidden in dummy cabins. Smuggled across the country over eighteen months. Tucked into rafters like sleeping weapons. Then at the signal, the roofs slide open, the drones lift off quietly and strike. Some had live video. All knew exactly where to go. This was not a raid. It was a performance.
Someone got close. Someone moved gear near Russia’s most protected aircraft. That means help on the inside or a deep failure in security. Either one shakes the Kremlin more than any missile ever could. The war is not just on the front. It is now behind the curtain. And the message is clear. Nowhere is safe. Go Ukraine!
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Reminds me of the planning and stealth used against Hezbollah at a different smaller scale with the booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies. Brilliant, patient warfare, and great reporting here and from the Kyiv Independent and the Guardian.
Viva Ukraine 
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Message: Putin is weak.
Copy that.
Best news the free world has gotten in a thousand days. The retaliation may be grim. Trumpster may want to reshuffle his deck and back an old player…one that was on his side all along.
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What makes you think the US wasn’t involved?
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That’s a comforting thought. Was it and will it?
@Larry: I’d like to think the U.S. was involved, at least indirectly. We didn’t fly the drones or pull the trigger, but realistically, an op this complex almost certainly leaned on a quiet backbone of U.S. intelligence, training, and strategic coordination.
Call it a covert assist. No fingerprints, but the shadow’s there. The scale of the strike and the strategic implications are just too big for it to have been entirely homegrown.
An administration official told CNN that they had no clue about the covert operation and were caught unaware - as it should be, imho.
“The planning, organization, and all the details were perfectly prepared. It can be confidently said that this was an absolutely unique operation for Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Also, a senior US defense official told CNN that after seeing Ukraine’s attack it showed a level of sophistication they had never seen before.
Neither our allies nor Ukraine can trust Trump whatsoever with geopolitical or military matters. Zelensky is valiantly fighting Russia, while Trump is insanely fighting Harvard.
Despite the POTUS of America who - no doubt after consuting his top generals - then blubbered “Vladimir, STOP!” Ukraine ignored the child’s words and did the work.
Despite accurate news reports on the action, any guesses on who will take credit for its success tomorrow?
Those Ukrainians are some mighty crafty fellers, Raf. With just a little bit of intelligence and other help, they pulled off a coup 'ol Vlad won’t soon forget. AND … he ain’t stupid … he knows how this happened. A message is being sent to him; hopefully, he’s hearing it. This is as crafty as the beeper caper pulled off by the Israelis. 
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“Once the bombers were burning, Ukraine apparently had no qualms about bragging about how they did it. A source told the Independent the drones, each equipped with POV cameras that live-streamed their flights, were smuggled into Russia in an operation that started about 18 months ago. They were taken to staging area near the air bases, including one in Irkutsk, about 2500 miles from Ukraine, and hidden in the joist spaces of dummy cabins. The cabins were mounted on trucks and moved into position. “At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers,” the publication reported.”
A few questions. Russ, I don’t understand the tone of your first sentence in the paragraph I quoted. I don’t see any bragging, a peculiar word used to describe this event. Second; given the success of this operation, why is anyone divulging anything about the logistics of how it was accomplished. It makes no sense to telegraph any advantage one may have over an enemy. Third; there is no way Ukraine can be thought of as the sole party involved in this operation. It’s just not possible. It flys in the face of any common sense.
Wishful thinking on your part Larry. Your man Trump just last week repeated that Ukraine has no cards. Zelenskyy just told Trump “you’re wrong”. Unfortunately the US was not involved in this caper, didn’t even know it was going to happen, and we all know why.
A country/military would have to be a “trusted partner” to be aware/involved.
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Russia has had it’s military attacked. It will respond with attacks on civilians. That is where the outrage lies. Putin is doing what Israel is accused of.
Some of you guys here make me laugh. I’d venture to say that most of you have never worn the uniform of the United States, don’t understand how military capabilities go far beyond kinetic capabilities and the whole thing is a chess game. The military is an arm of the Government that enforces political aims which sometimes are made public and sometimes not. CNN, MSDNC, et al, are not the official speaker for the Government. Actions speak louder than words AND sometimes are at odds with the spoken word.
Laugh all you want Larry. No one is saying the military is not capable. It’s just that Trump is on Putin’s side and the military is not commanded to be engaged like you in your fantasy world wish it were.
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The big picture points to Ukraine pulling this off on their own. They planned it, smuggled the drones in, and carried out the strikes using their own people and equipment. The setup began back in 2023 and 2024, while Biden was still in office.
U.S. intelligence didn’t see it coming, and I agree with vayuwings – that is probably how it should be, considering the current U.S.-Ukraine relationship. Ukraine kept it tight, even from its allies.
The U.S. helped Ukraine over the years with ISR, training, and tech. That support laid the foundation. But when it comes to this strike, there is no sign of direct U.S. involvement. Ukraine ran the whole show, or at least that’s the story being told. Maybe that framing also helps keep NATO and the U.S. from getting pulled into the mess.
That is what the open sources are saying. I am just connecting the dots.
And the bigger question now is – what is Russia going to do? Just eat it? The Motherland is not looking so secure these days.
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"And the bigger question now is – what is Russia going to do? "
They will bomb Civilians Hospitals and Children…that’s what they are capable of.
"And the bigger question now is – what is Russia going to do? "
We all know what the immediate response will be. Bombing civilians in a blind attempt for revenge. But the longer-range response may be more drastic. This makes the Russian military look weak and inept, and is a major embarrassment for Putin. Vlad might want to be extra careful from now on, since the Russian oligarchs who really run the country are getting tired of him and his war. Over 900,000 Russian and North Korean casualties, a badly depleted military stockpile, multiple embarrassing strikes inside Russia (including this one) from a supposedly corrupt and inept Ukrainian defense force. And what does Russia have to show for it? Damn little except for a shaky economy and a sliver of Ukrainian territory. It could be that Putin might be the next casualty.
In a larger sense, the US and NATO should be paying close attention to all this, as it is truly rewriting the rules of engagement for future conflicts. Tanks and billion-dollar manned fighter planes are obsolete, rendered so by inexpensive (relatively speaking) hand launched missiles and drones. Major nations have traditionally gone into a new war with the leftover weapons and tactics from the last one, only to find that neither one works any more. Watch and learn.
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