Ukraine wipes out $1 billion of Russian aircrafts in ‘top secret’ military operation

Dramatic footage shows how a fleet of Russian aircraft worth more than $1 billion were obliterated by Ukrainian drones.

Nearly four years after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion, the war is still raging between the two countries despite persisting peace talks.

Both sides have sustained extensive losses and a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies suggested Russia has sustained around 1.2 million casualties, compared to Ukraine's 600,000.

It warns that Putin has suffered 'more losses than any major power in any war since World War 2, in return for gaining just a small amount of territory.

And according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's country, Moscow's air defences have taken a hefty hit.

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This week, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) released video footage of long-range drones wreaking havoc on five Russian military bases last year.

An elite special forces unit, known as the Alpha Group, carried out the military operation and claim that 15 aircraft in total - including 11 Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets - were 'incinerated'.

Three helicopters and an Antonov An-26 cargo plane were also destroyed in the strikes, causing over $1billion worth of damage, the SBU said.

"The enemy is used to feeling safe deep in the rear," a statement from the security service explained. "But for the Alpha, a special-purpose unit of the Security Service of Ukraine, distance has long been irrelevant.

A fleet of Russian aircraft were destroyed at five different military bases by Ukrainian drones (Security Service of Ukraine)

"Last year alone, five military airfields were hit by our long-range drones. As a result, the aggressor state will no longer be able to fly 15 aircraft. The damage is confirmed by unique footage.

"Along with the military equipment, ammunition and fuel depots at the airfields were incinerated. By these strikes, the SSU’s Alfa unit inflicted more than $1billion in damage on the enemy."

Ukraine did not clarify exactly when the attacks were carried out, apart from referencing that they took place in 2025.

It seems it was quite the costly year for Russia, as Ukraine announced in June that 117 drones had blew up $7 billion (£5.1 billion) of Putin's war kit.

The attacks are said to have caused more than $1billion in damage (Security Service of Ukraine)

Celebrating the success of the 'perfectly executed' mission - dubbed Operation 'Spider's Web' - President Zelenskyy explained that the top-secret attack had been meticulously planned over an 18-month period.

"A brilliant operation was carried out - on enemy territory, targeting only military objectives, specifically the equipment used to strike Ukraine," he said at the time.

"Russia suffered significant losses - entirely justified and deserved. 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit.

"Our people operated across several Russian regions - in three different time zones. And the people who assisted us were withdrawn from Russian territory before the operation, they are now safe."

Ammunition and fuel depots were also destroyed at the airfields, the SBU said (Security Service of Ukraine)

Ahead the resumption of peace talks which are scheduled to take place on Sunday (1 February), Zelenskyy claimed that Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate that Russia is planning a major aerial attack.

He explained that the continuation of these strikes hampers the efforts to work out a peace deal, adding: "Every single Russian strike does."

Previous large attacks, sometimes involving more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, have targeted the Ukrainian power grid.

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas has accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously and called for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press Putin into making concessions.

Zelenskyy suspects that Putin is plotting a major aerial attack (Contributor/Getty Images)

"We see them increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they can’t make moves on the battlefield," Kallas said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. "So, they are attacking civilians."

She stressed that Europe, which sees its own future security at stake in Ukraine, must be fully involved in talks to end the war.

Russia launched more than 6,000 drones at Ukraine over the past month alone, according to Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

He claimed that Russia is constantly improving its drones and its tactics, prompting Ukraine to shift its air defence strategy, though he gave no details of the changes.