On June 1, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a large-scale special operation, striking at least four Russian military air bases. The attacks resulted in the destruction or disabling of over 40 pieces of Russian aviation equipment — including strategic bombers.
As reported by journalist Vitaliy Hlahola, this accounts for more than 36% of Russia’s entire strategic aviation fleet, based on open-source data.
Before the attack, the journalist personally analyzed satellite images of the "Belaya" and "Olenya" air bases, where the following were spotted:
79 Tu-22M3 bombers
17 Tu-95MS
7 Tu-160
as well as MiG-31, Il-78M, An-12, An-26 aircraft
According to him, a significant portion of the aircraft were non-operational even before the strike — due to lack of resources or technical malfunctions. The operational craft became the SSU’s primary targets.
The operation by Ukrainian special services was, without exaggeration, one of the largest blows to Russia’s strategic aviation throughout the entire full-scale war.