This picture grabed from a video released by the Ukrainian secret services on June 1, 2025 shows what they say are several aircraft on fire on Belaya air base in eastern Siberia, more than 4,200 kilometers from Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / SECURITY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine said Sunday it destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars in a "large-scale" drone assault on enemy soil as it geared up for talks with Moscow counterparts to explore prospects for a ceasefire.
In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it damaged $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases thousands of kilometres (miles) away, with unverified video footage showing aicraft engulfed in flames and black smoke.
A source in the Ukrainian security services said the drones were concealed in the ceilings of shipping containers which were opened up to release them for the assault.
The long-planned operation came at a delicate moment three years into Russia's invasion.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he was sending a delegation to Istanbul led by his Defence Minister Rustem Umerov for talks on Monday with Russian officials.
Turkey is hosting the meeting, which was spurred by US President Donald Trump's push for a quick deal to end the three-year war.
Zelensky, who previously voiced scepticism about whether Russia was serious in proposing Monday's meeting, said he had defined the Ukrainian delegation's position going into it.
Priorities included "a complete and unconditional ceasefire" and the return of prisoners and abducted children, he said on social media.
Russia has rejected previous ceasefire demands.
It said it has formulated its own peace terms but refused to divulge them in advance. Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out a Turkish proposal for the countries' leaders to attend the meeting.
Russian news agencies said the Russian delegation was headed to Istanbul on Sunday for the talks.
