Satellite Images Confirm Ukraine Destroyed Russian Bomber Fleet

Satellite images captured after Ukraine’s weekend drone attack deep inside Russian territory show that multiple strategic bombers were destroyed or heavily damaged, Reuters reporters Tom Balmforth and Milan Pavicic wrote.

The images confirmed the destruction of at least two Tu-22M “Backfire” bombers and four Tu-95 strategic heavy bombers. I Photo: Maxar Technologies

Ukraine launched 117 drones targeting at least four Russian air bases, using mobile container-based platforms positioned near the strike zones. Verified drone footage shows aircraft were hit at a minimum of two airfields.

Capella Space, a satellite imaging company, provided Reuters with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of one airbase in Irkutsk, Siberia, taken on June 2—one day after the attack.

SAR imagery, which uses energy beams instead of visible light to map the Earth’s surface, revealed debris along the runway and in protective aircraft shelters at the Belaya military air base.

“Based on the debris visible, comparison with recent satellite images, and released drone footage on Telegram and Twitter, I can see the destruction of several aircraft,” said John Ford, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

The images confirmed the destruction of at least two Tu-22M “Backfire” bombers and four Tu-95 strategic heavy bombers.

Ukrainian authorities claimed the strike damaged or destroyed a total of 41 Russian warplanes, marking one of the most complex and successful operations of the war to date.