Ukraine Launches Major Drone Assault on Russian Bases, Echoing 'Pearl Harbor'-Style Surprise

Drones reportedly deployed from trucks targeted multiple sites, including a strategic air base in Russia’s Far East, in one of the largest Ukrainian strikes to date.

Smoke rises above the area following what local authorities called a drone attack on a military base in Russia

Ukraine claimed to have hit dozens of long-range bomber aircraft across Russia with drones that were smuggled in wooden shipping crates carried on truck beds and then launched from nearby locations. Russia's Defense Ministry issued a statement on June 1 saying air bases in five different regions had been targeted, and that at two of them "several aircraft caught fire." Russian Telegram channels, meanwhile, published numerous photographs and videos showing drones taking off from truck beds, as well as some containers exploding or burning, in multiple locations. In comments to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, unnamed officials with the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, claimed as many as 40 bombers may have been hit. The agency released video showing drones exploding into Tupolev bombers parked on tarmacs, while other videos showed plumes of smoke rising over several bases. Strategic, long-range bombers have played a key role in Russia's war, firing long-range cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets well out of range of Ukrainian air defenses. Governors in several Russian regions confirmed Ukrainian drone sightings, though it was unclear if any aircraft were hit. Air bases in the northern Murmansk and central Ryazan regions were reportedly hit, as was a base in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, which is more than 5,200 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border. Governor Igor Kobzeva said it was the first time a Ukrainian drone had been spotted in the region. The SBU also released photographs that appeared to show wooden shipping containers containing numerous drones, stacked up in an undisclosed warehouse. An SBU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agency shipped drones to Russia while making a separate shipment of what the official described as mobile wooden houses, or sheds. Then, he said, "the drones were hidden [inside the sheds] that were already placed on trucks." The roofs were then retracted and the drones launched, the official said. More than 40 Russian aircraft were destroyed, the official claimed, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 bombers. If confirmed, the drone operation would be a major embarrassment for Russia's military and intelligence agencies -- and the latest in a series of audacious attacks that Ukraine has pulled on Russian soil - RFE/RL

My hot take analysis: Ukraine’s bold strikes on multiple Russian air bases strongly reinforce what I’ve previously asserted: Ukraine possesses deep-operating special services capable of executing high-risk missions far inside Russian territory. These range from assassinating high-ranking generals and sabotaging infrastructure to complex, synchronized operations like Sunday’s coordinated attacks. The strikes represent a major blow to Russia’s intelligence services and a significant humiliation for President Vladimir Putin. What stands out this time is the public reaction in Ukraine. While previous covert operations on Russian soil have often stirred anxiety among Ukrainians—fearing severe retaliation—this particular assault was met with widespread, almost jubilant approval. For the first time in recent memory, people celebrated openly, viewing the attack as a meaningful degradation of Russia’s offensive capabilities.

• Two bridges have collapsed in Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, authorities said. It was not clear on Sunday morning whether the two incidents — which both involved trains — in neighboring Bryansk and Kursk were related, or what exactly caused the separate collapses. At least seven people were killed in Bryansk when a road bridge gave way onto a passenger train late Saturday, with railway authorities citing “illegal interference.” - CNN

• After days of uncertainty over whether or not Ukraine would even attend, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would sit down with Russian officials at the second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. The first round of the talks more than a week ago yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war - but no sense of any consensus on how to halt the fighting - Reuters

• Experts and analysts at the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa said they had low expectations of the June 2 Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul. However, most welcomed the continued engagement of Turkey in the search for a long-lasting peace in the region.

• Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for President Trump to reject recognizing Russian sovereignty over territory it seized by force. Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during Trump’s first term, said if the U.S. recognized Crimea as Russian territory, it “would be a mistake of epic proportions,” speaking at the Black Sea Security Forum Saturday. His remarks comes as the Trump administration has weighed giving de jure recognition to Russia over territory it occupies in Ukraine as part of efforts to coax Moscow towards a ceasefire and peace deal with Kyiv - The Hill

• Russia still has the means to vastly increase its fire power in the Black Sea and is using nefarious tactics to deploy mini submarines in distant theatres beyond the detection of NATO and Turkish authorities. At the Black Sea Security Forum Sunday, experts said that internal waterways gives Russia the capability to shift naval assets from the Baltic to Black seas (though with less tonnage than desired). In the Black Sea region itself, where Ukraine is estimated to have destroyed at least on-third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, an additional crane has been installed in Novorossiysk that allows loading of ship-launched and submarine-launched Kalibre missiles. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).

• At the Black Sea Security Forum, one expert raised concerns about whether Turkish authorities are doing enough to prevent Russia from smuggling mini-submarines through the Turkish Straits aboard vessels disguised as commercial cargo ships. According to the Jamestown Foundation, the 1936 Montreux Convention regulates the passage of naval vessels between the Mediterranean and Black Seas via the Turkish Straits. It limits the size and duration of stay for warships but does not apply to civilian-flagged vessels—potentially creating a loophole. A European expert suggested that Russia may be exploiting this gap by mounting mini-submarines—capable of significant offensive capability—onto ships registered as civilian vessels, thereby circumventing the convention during deployments to the Mediterranean and beyond. Multiple experts at the forum also highlighted Russia’s broader hybrid warfare tactics, including the sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. They noted a shift toward strategies designed to obscure attribution, such as using Chinese commercial vessels, sometimes operated by Russian crews. Russian sensors, believed to be part of an effort to spy on the U.K.'s nuclear submarines, have also been discovered concealed in the waters surrounding Britain, the Sunday Times reported in April. Advanced sea drones are giving Kyiv a run for its money as well, one expert noted.

"Hundreds of thousands of Russians... are fearful of going back home, either being, recruited, forcibly recruited to fight at the front line, which is usually one way ticket or further strikes, in Russia." Kremlin officials and influential Russians abroad are fearful of the intensifying drone strike and assassination campaign in Russia, says Michael Bociurkiw on Times Radio Frontline.

---

Bodies were brought to Nasser hospital after the incident

Thirty-one people have been killed and more than 150 injured in Israeli gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry and medics say. Reports said one incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday as people were queueing for aid in Rafah in the south of Gaza. Another incident was said to have happened near a separate aid centre in central Gaza, with reports of 14 injured. The group that is providing the aid, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has denied the claims and said they had been spread by Hamas. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said findings from an initial inquiry said its forces had not fired at Gazans while they were near or within aid points. "In recent hours, false reports have been spread, including serious allegations against the IDF regarding fire toward Gazan residents in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip," the IDF said. "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false," it added. The BBC was contacted by doctors at the Nasser hospital who said they had received about 200 people with injuries caused by bullets or shrapnel. Local journalists and activists shared footage of bodies and wounded people being transported on donkey carts to the Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area. Gaza's health ministry said more than 200 cases had arrived at hospitals, including 31 dead - BBC

Voter turnout in Sunday’s second round of the Polish presidential election stood at 54.91% by 5 p.m., the electoral commission has announced. In the presidential runoff, Poles have a choice of centrist liberal Rafał Trzaskowski of the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) and the nationalist Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party (PiS). Turnout is seen as a crucial factor in determining the outcome of the election. Voting began at 7 a.m. and is set to end at 9 p.m., with exit polls expected shortly afterward. The electoral commission says it aims to announce the final results on Monday morning or early afternoon. - TVP (Poland)

French authorities say two fans died after celebrations around the country for Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League victory, European club football's biggest prize. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party, according to the national police. And a man was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said. The circumstances of both deaths are being investigated. A police officer was accidentally hit by fireworks in northwest France and placed in an artificial coma because of grave eye injuries, the national police service said - Euronews

During an Oval Office send-off Friday marking the end of his formal role with the Trump administration, Elon Musk lashed out when asked about a New York Times report alleging he was a frequent user of the drug ketamine during the 2024 campaign. "The New York Times. Is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on the Russiagate?" Musk asked while standing alongside President Trump, cutting off a question from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about the Times. "Let's move on." Musk's remarks came on the same day that the Times reported he used ketamine — which can be used both recreationally and medically — as often as once a day in 2024. Musk has told people he took ketamine so frequently that it affected his bladder, and he has also used ecstasy and magic mushrooms at times, the paper said, citing unnamed sources. On Saturday, Musk posted on X that he is "NOT taking drugs," writing that he "tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago" but has not "taken it since then," and saying the Times had lied. CBS News has reached out to Musk and his spokesperson for comment - CBS

---

The journals…