Ukrainian drones conducted an attack on a military airfield about 800 miles from the Ukraine border, reportedly destroying a supersonic nuclear-capable Russian Tupolev Tu-22M bomber and possibly damaging another, CNN reports. Photos appearing on social media last weekend showed a Tu-22 in flames, with the pic being geolocated at the airbase in Soltsy.
While the loss of a single supersonic bomber isn’t a huge impact on Russian military readiness, the attack demonstrates Kyiv’s capability of hitting targets deep in Russia. Located just 250 miles to the Estonia border in the northern half of Russia, Soltsy was believed to be safe from the Ukrainian military reach, leading some to believe the attack was carried out by Russians aligned with the Ukrainian effort or against President Vladimir Putin.