Russian invasion

Ukrainian drone attack
Ukraine: 1.5 years of planning behind the attack – drones hidden in container roofs

Ukrainian security forces struck four air bases in three Russian time zones simultaneously on Sunday, confirms the head of the country's security service, Vasyl Malyuk. The general oversaw preparations for the operation for a year and a half and said in a statement that it had all been "extremely complex from a logistical point of view".

First, so-called FPV drones, "First person view", were smuggled into Russia. On Russian territory, the drones were then hidden under the roofs of converted containers, which were driven to locations near the air bases. Shortly before the attack, the roofs of the containers were opened by remote control so that the drones could be guided towards their targets.

According to Malyuk, the operation took out 41 Russian aircraft that were firing missiles at Ukraine.

“The enemy believes that they can bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians with impunity indefinitely. But that is wrong. We will respond to Russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere – at sea, in the air and on land,” Vasyl Malyuk said in the statement.

Sources: Trump received no advance warning of the attack

The drone attack on Russian air bases on Sunday was entirely a Ukrainian operation – and not even US President Donald Trump received advance warning of what was going on. This is what two Ukrainian government sources told the Kyiv Post. According to the newspaper, Trump was at home playing golf when Ukraine struck the air bases.

– This was entirely a Ukrainian operation. The US was not involved, says one of the sources.

Exactly how many Russian aircraft have been shot down is still unclear, says Katarina Engberg, a security analyst at Sieps, in P1 Morgon. But regardless, the attack will have great moral significance for Ukraine, she believes.

New talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected today, but according to Engberg, they are only being held to please Trump.

– With this spectacular attack, Ukraine has shown that they can carry out this type of attack, so I don't think they are ready for any serious talks about a ceasefire yet, she says.

The fighting
ISW: Russia is advancing – taking more and more ground

Russia's offensive against Ukraine has gained momentum in the spring. This is reported by AFP, which analyzed data from the think tank ISW.

After slowing down during the winter, the Russian army took 507 square kilometers of land in May, compared to 379 in April and 240 in March. Over the past 12 months, they have continued to advance while Ukraine has failed to regain any of the occupied territory, writes AFP.
Russian invasion • Negotiations
Ukrainian delegation: Ready for big steps

A Ukrainian delegation has now arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, for peace talks with Russia. This is reported by Reuters.

The talks are scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon. It is the second round of talks between the parties since the start of the war. A source in Kyiv's delegation tells AFP that they are ready for "big steps towards peace".

- The delegation came to Istanbul with a clear agenda and preparation to take steps towards peace, the person says.

Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced that a Ukrainian delegation would be there. Representatives from Russia traveled there yesterday.

Great fury in war circles: “Russia’s Pearl Harbor”

Russian military bloggers and propagandists want to see revenge after this weekend’s Ukrainian drone attacks on several air bases on Russian soil, reports the Washington Post. Some actors on the messaging service Telegram describe it as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor”.

Military blogger Roman Alekhin writes for his 174,000 followers that Russia should respond with nuclear strikes, while the pro-Kremlin channel Rybar believes that the attack, which is said to have knocked out a large number of bombers, weakens Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

“It is impossible to replace these losses.”

Newsweek has seen satellite images that reportedly show that at least seven planes that can be armed with nuclear weapons have been damaged or destroyed, at one and the same air base.