A source with Ukraine's SBU security service said the coordinated attacks inside Russia were "aimed at destroying enemy bombers far from the front."

The source said Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, in Olenya, up in the Arctic near Finland, and in Ivanovo and Dyagilevo, both east of Moscow, had been targeted.

More than 40 aircraft had been hit at the Belaya base, and a fire had broken out there, the source said, showing a video in which several aircraft could be seen in flames and black smoke rising.

"It's the first attack of this sort in Siberia," Governor Igor Kobzev said, calling on the population not to panic. He posted an amateur video apparently showing a drone flying in the sky, and a large cloud of grey smoke.

The governor of the Murmansk region, where the Olenya base is located, Andrey Chibis, also said "enemy drones were flying overhead, and anti-aircraft defenses were operating.

At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine, Russian officials said

A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was blown up on Saturday night, local time, as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath, Russian investigators said.

Just four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighbouring Kursk region, showering the road with parts of a freight train, the investigators said.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, linked the incidents and said explicitly that both bridges were blown up.....

It seems Urainians outfitted a couple of ordinary twenty foot containers with a flat, DIY made upper deck, transporting dozens of small drones each far inland to their launch positions near Russian strategic airbases.

My sources have told me there was much more than just a few airplanes, also notice was given a day in advance so the loss of the assets wouldn't be a surprise SALT ways.

If I were Ukraine I'd be working on a second round to hit munitions factories. Maybe some more sea drones nasty on the Black Sea. Make Putin bleed.

My sources have told me there was much more than just a few airplanes, also notice was given a day in advance so the loss of the assets wouldn't be a surprise SALT ways.

If I were Ukraine I'd be working on a second round to hit munitions factories. Maybe some more sea drones nasty on the Black Sea.

Make Putin bleed

Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nukes, making them and their delivery vehicles legitimate targets. However, destroying part of his MAD triad sends a terrifying message, opening the possibility of first strike. He is no longer the Soviet Union, he doesn't have the resources to replenish. He can't risk losing too many of his newer or strategic assets. It is a demonstration of how to make him impotent, weak and a blueprint for others to follow. A follow on or two will force his hand.

[...] Bridges look easy but tunnels are much harder to rebuild.

Force his hand, to end the conflict before his fear of the West launching a first strike because he is too weak to respond. A very dangerous game.

1. Russia would never attack Ukraine with nuclear arms; it would immediately become a global pariah, forcing all others (including India, China) to totally isolate them.
   
2. a race for nuclear arms would commence among all industrialized countries. They would render Russia's remaining power projection useless against, e.g. Japan, SKorea; or what about e.g. Sweden?
   

It's against China's, or e.g. India's interests. I'm convinced Xi explained this in clear language to Putin. The whole concept of nuclear non-proliferation depends on the commitment of great powers never to threaten non-nuclear ones with nuclear arms.

The most serious threat to Russia is the damage done by Putin himself (war spending, shredding Russia's young rural males (demographics!!!)... Asian minorities (pah... no Russians...); missed investments in basic infrastructure; its maintenance; overall: modernization of a backward country). Every thoughtful Russian looking at his country will come to this conclusion. It's foremost up to Russia to change course, to mitigate the threat they believe they feel from "the West".

Danish joke :) Two Russians are sitting on a bench. One says, "This special operation is really dragging on." The other replies, "Actually, it's a war. Not just against Ukraine, but also NATO. That's why it's taking so long." The first one asks, "Okay... so what do we call it?" The second one says, "So far, we have lost 33 generals, 350 planes, 350 helicopters, 32 ships, 1 submarine, 390 air defense systems, 10,000 tanks, 24,000 armored vehicles, 1 million men, and much, much more..." The first one responds, "Wow, that's quite a lot... Hmm, but what about NATO?" The second one shrugs, "Well... I don't know. They haven't shown up yet."




Finnish joke (from the Winter War): So a Russian battalion is marching up to the front and a voice cries out, "One Finn can defeat ten Russians." So, the commander sends ten men to deal with the insolent Finn. They hear a lot of noise, and then quiet, and the voice yells again, "One Finn can defeat one hundred Russians." So, the commander sends one hundred men to deal with the insolent Finn. They hear a lot of noise, and then quiet, and the voice yells again, "One Finn can defeat one thousand Russians." So, the commander sends one thousand men to deal with the insolent Finn. They hear a lot of noise, and then quiet, but one badly wounded Russian soldier comes crawling back, and in his dying breath, he gasps, "It´s a trap! There are two Finns!"

No doubt there are more!

All in a very deadly game of politics...
Martin

If Ukraine exists not as a puppet, Russia loses its only warm water port. That is existential to a soviet mind.

[...] You and I know it wouldn't be with tanks, but ideas.

1. contain them, prevent them from expanding in Europe, Asia or Africa,
   
2. or 'squeeze' them to change...
   
3. what about de-colonization? (self determination for non-Russian nations within the Russian "Federation");
   

(1) was successful (and ultra expensive for all involved) in the Cold War. (2) ???

If Ukraine exists not as a puppet, Russia loses its only warm water port. That is existential to a soviet mind.

They have sufficient large and 'warm water' ports in Southern Russia: Rostov, Novorossiysk, others... They can't dominate the Black Sea from these, that is. But why do they have to?

If Ukraine exists not as a puppet, Russia loses its only warm water port. That is existential to a soviet mind.

They have sufficient large and 'warm water' ports in Southern Russia: Rostov, Novorossiysk, others... They can't dominate the Black Sea from these, that is. But why do they have to?

If you note on a map both those ports you mention have to go through the black sea to reach the Mediterranean and then on to open Ocean. Count the countries that have shoreline on the Black Sea. Notice how many are aligned with the West and/or are NATO Members? That is the threat, that he will be so outnumbered that he won't be able to host his warships there. All you need is to think of the northern route the convoys had to take in WWII to supply Russia.

They don't want to project actual naval power, they just want to boast about it.

They don't want to project actual naval power, they just want to boast about it.

Boasting about having power is a major part of projection of power.

Ukraine has struck another major blow to Russia’s internal operations, days after pulling off one of the most devastating covert attacks deep inside Vladimir Putin’s territory.

Ukraine military intelligence agency (HUR) has gained access to sensitive data of Russia’s strategic aircraft manufacturer Tupolev, a source in HUR told The Kyiv Independent.

Tupolev is a Soviet-era aerospace firm that has been fully integrated into Russia’s gargantuan defence-industrial complex. The firm has been under international sanctions since 2022 for its role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Its bombers have been widely used to launch long-range cruise missiles against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with untold amounts of death and damage.

According to the source, HUR’s cyber corps accessed over 4.4 gigabytes (GB) of internal data, including official correspondence, personnel files, home addresses, resumes, purchase records, and closed meeting minutes......