The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has once again drawn global attention to Kyiv’s rapidly evolving drone warfare strategy with the release of a striking video compilation showing one-way attack drones striking parked Russian military aircraft. The footage, published in late January, underlines how inexpensive unmanned systems are increasingly being used to neutralise some of the most expensive assets in modern warfare—frontline fighter jets, bombers, helicopters, and transport aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to the SBU, the operations were carried out by its elite “Alpha Group,” formally known as the “A” Special Operations Centre. The unit reportedly conducted a series of long-range drone attacks throughout 2025 against five Russian military airfields, damaging or destroying approximately 15 aircraft.
“The enemy had become used to feeling safe in the rear. But for the special forces of the SBU’s ‘Alpha’ unit, distance is no longer an issue,” the agency said in a statement dated January 28, 2026.
The message was unmistakable: Russia’s rear areas, once considered relatively secure sanctuaries for air assets, are no longer beyond Ukraine’s reach.
The released footage—apparently recorded by cameras mounted on the attacking drones—shows multiple Russian aircraft being targeted while parked on airfield aprons. Several clips capture explosions near aircraft fuselages, fuel storage areas, and adjacent infrastructure.
The SBU claimed that the attacks destroyed or damaged 15 Russian military aircraft, alongside ammunition depots and fuel facilities, inflicting an estimated $1 billion in total losses. While Kyiv did not explain how it arrived at this figure, the claimed inventory of damaged aircraft provides some context.
According to the SBU, the strikes hit:
Eleven fixed-wing aircraft, including Su-30SM multirole fighters, Su-34 fighter-bombers, Su-27 air superiority fighters, Su-24 bombers, and MiG-31 interceptors
Three helicopters: a Mi-28 attack helicopter, a Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter, and a Mi-8 utility helicopter
Even conservatively priced, the cumulative replacement cost of such aircraft would run into hundreds of millions of dollars, excluding associated infrastructure and operational disruptions.
The SBU did not disclose the precise locations of the strikes. However, open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts and local media reports suggest that the attacks were concentrated in Russian-controlled Crimea.
In particular, analysts believe Su-30SM fighters and Su-24 bombers were struck in January at the Saky airfield, one of Russia’s most important aviation hubs in Crimea. Other reported targets include the Kirovskoye, Simferopol, and Belbek airbases, all located on the Crimean Peninsula.
These operations are distinct from Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign conducted in June 2025 under the codename “Operation Spiderweb.” Instead, the latest attacks appear to be part of a sustained effort to degrade Russian air power in Crimea—territory annexed by Moscow in 2014 and still claimed by Ukraine as sovereign land.
One of the most striking aspects of the SBU’s campaign is the cost imbalance. Ukraine has developed and fielded a wide array of long-range, one-way attack drones, many of which reportedly cost less than $10,000 per unit.
By contrast, the aircraft they target—such as the Su-34 or MiG-31—can cost tens of millions of dollars each. This cost asymmetry lies at the heart of Ukraine’s drone strategy, allowing Kyiv to impose disproportionate economic and operational costs on Russia.
Despite Russia’s layered air defence systems, including surface-to-air missiles, radar networks, and electronic warfare assets, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly managed to penetrate defended airspace and strike high-value targets.
Moscow has neither officially confirmed nor denied the specific losses claimed by the SBU, maintaining its usual policy of strategic ambiguity. However, satellite imagery, independent analysis, and Russia’s visible operational adjustments suggest that the threat is being taken seriously.
Early in the war, Russia relied heavily on its vast geographical depth to protect key military assets. When Ukrainian drones first began striking airfields in western Russia, Moscow responded by relocating aircraft deeper into the country, assuming they would be beyond Ukrainian reach.
That assumption has steadily eroded.
Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks date back to 2022, when Kyiv began modifying Soviet-era unmanned aerial vehicles to strike Russian bases.
On December 5, 2022, Ukrainian drones hit two major Russian air bases—Dyagilevo in Ryazan Oblast, about 285 miles from Ukraine, and Engels in Saratov Oblast, roughly 315 miles away. Both bases housed strategic aviation assets used in missile strikes against Ukraine.
Unconfirmed reports at the time suggested damage to Tu-95 strategic bombers, a Tu-22M3 bomber, and an Il-78 aerial refuelling aircraft. Engels-2 was targeted again within weeks, reinforcing the message that distance alone was no longer sufficient protection.
Ukraine’s drone campaign intensified over the following years. In August 2023, Russia described a wave of drone strikes as the largest attack on its territory up to that point. Drones reportedly travelled nearly 600 kilometres from Ukraine and struck targets in Pskov Oblast, destroying or severely damaging four Il-76 military transport aircraft.
The tempo increased further in 2024. In April, dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked multiple locations across western Russia, including the Morozovsk airfield in Rostov Oblast, home to Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 bombers.
In June 2024, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Agency (GUR) made an even more provocative claim: that a Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter had been struck on the ground at an airbase in Astrakhan Oblast, nearly 600 kilometres behind the front lines.
To support its assertion, the GUR released satellite imagery showing the aircraft intact on June 7, followed by visible blast craters and fire damage near its parking area on June 8. Russia did not publicly acknowledge the incident.
Ukraine’s most audacious drone operation to date came on June 1, 2025, with the launch of “Operation Spiderweb”—a mission that fundamentally altered perceptions of what was possible in asymmetric warfare.
“$7 billion: This is the estimated cost of the enemy’s strategic aviation, which was hit today as a result of the SBU’s special operation,” the SBU said in a social media post following the attacks.
The operation involved approximately 117 FPV quadcopter drones that were covertly transported into Russia. Concealed inside prefabricated wooden sheds mounted on truck trailers, the drones were unknowingly driven across the country by civilian truck drivers.
At pre-selected locations, the shed roofs were remotely opened, allowing the drones to launch from close proximity to their targets. This method bypassed much of Russia’s early-warning radar and electronic warfare infrastructure.
The drones struck four major airbases housing Russia’s Long-Range Aviation assets: Belaya in Irkutsk Oblast, Olenya in Murmansk Oblast, Dyagilevo in Ryazan Oblast, and Ivanovo Severny in Ivanovo Oblast.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later revealed that the operation had been planned over 18 months and personally overseen at the highest levels.
Ukrainian officials claimed that up to 41 Russian military aircraft were damaged or destroyed during Operation Spiderweb, including Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers and at least one A-50 airborne early warning aircraft.
Independent analysts and subsequent reporting challenged those figures, suggesting that confirmed losses were likely in the single digits. Nonetheless, the operation had undeniable strategic effects.
Russia dispersed its remaining strategic bombers farther east, complicating long-range missile operations and increasing logistical burdens. For several weeks, the tempo of Russian strategic air strikes on Ukraine appeared to decline.
Perhaps more importantly, Operation Spiderweb demonstrated that even the most heavily guarded assets were vulnerable to innovative, low-cost attack methods.
Unlike Operation Spiderweb, the drone strikes highlighted in the SBU’s latest video are geographically concentrated in Crimea. This focus suggests a deliberate campaign to degrade Russian air power supporting operations in southern Ukraine and the Black Sea region.
Crimea hosts key Russian aviation units, logistics hubs, and command facilities. Persistent drone pressure forces Russia to either accept continued losses or divert additional air defence resources to the peninsula, stretching its already taxed systems.
Military analysts estimate that during 2025 alone, Russian aviation may have lost between 10 and 20 airframes to drone attacks—either destroyed outright or damaged beyond economical repair.
Ukraine’s drone campaign illustrates how relatively small actors can challenge conventionally superior adversaries through innovation, adaptability, and cost-effective technology.
By combining long-range drones, FPV systems, deception tactics, and detailed intelligence, Kyiv has created a playbook that many militaries around the world are now studying closely.
For Russia, the message is stark: there is no longer a safe rear, no guaranteed sanctuary for high-value assets, and no distance that ensures immunity from attack.
