Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russian aircraft were damaged, but not destroyed, during an attack by Ukrainian drones. He made this statement in an interview with TASS.
“The equipment in question, as has also been stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defense, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored,” Ryabkov said.
He also dismissed Ukraine’s claims about the results of the attack as unfounded.
“There is nothing of the sort, not even close. One must rely on the data and information released through the channels of the [Russian] Ministry of Defense,” the deputy minister added.
On June 1, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) carried out an operation called “Spiderweb,” during which Ukrainian drones attacked Russian military airbases. The SBU claimed that the airbases Olenya, Belaya, Ivanovo-Severny, and Dyagilevo were targeted.
According to Western intelligence estimates, 40 Russian aircraft were damaged during the Ukrainian special operation, with 10–13 of them destroyed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that 41 Russian aircraft were hit in the operation, half of which are beyond repair.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that several aircraft caught fire due to the drone attacks at airbases in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions (Olenya and Belaya airbases, respectively).