Russia, Ukraine war: Zelenksy orders massive drone attack on Russian airbases on eve of ceasefire talks

Ukraine has launched a massive drone attack deep in Russian territory, destroying more than 40 military aircraft, a Ukrainian security official confirmed to the Associated Press.

The operation, code-named “Spiderweb,” took over a year and a half to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a statement shared on the social media platform X, Mr Zelenksy said, “In total, 117 drones were used in the operation with a corresponding number of drone operators involved.”

Ukrainian officials confirmed the drones were smuggled into Russia and concealed under the roofs of small wooden sheds, which were loaded onto trucks and driven to the perimeter of the airbases.

The drones struck airfields including the Belaya airbase in Russia’s Irkutsk region, more than 4,000km from Ukraine.

In another statement shared on X, Mr Zelensky described the attack as an “absolutely brilliant result”.

Video from military airfields across Russia showed destroyed aircraft and planes engulfed in flames.

Meanwhile, Russia unleashed its most intense aerial bombardment of the war so far, firing 472 drones and seven missiles at targets across Ukraine on Sunday.

The dramatic escalation comes just one day before Ukrainian and Russian officials are scheduled to meet for a new round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul.

US President Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers, which have far less cash and much smaller stocks of weapons than the United States.

According to Mr Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, the two sides will present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms in Istanbul, though it is clear that after three years of intense war, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart.

Mr Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022.

Mr Trump has called Mr Putin “crazy” and berated Mr Zelensky in public in the Oval Office, but the US President has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Mr Putin delays, then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia.

In June last year, Mr Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia.

Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters.

According to the document, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine’s military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow’s forces, and reparations for Ukraine.

The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory.

Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100 square km, about the same size as the US state of Ohio.

- With AAP