SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk “personally curated the operation,” the official told POLITICO, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
“Thanks to Malyuk … Russia has now understood the true meaning of the word demilitarization,” the official said.
The official showed a video of Russian bombers burning at one of the airfields that could not be independently verified. Russian authorities have not issued any official statements on the drone attacks.
“Today will later be called the dark day of Russia’s long-range aviation,” Russian military aviation blogger Ilya Tumanov, known as Fighterbomber, said in a Telegram post. “And the day is not over yet.”
The SBU official said that to prepare for the operation, called “Pavutyna”(web), Ukrainian operatives delivered FPV drones to Russia territory along with mobile wooden housings.
“Later, in the Russian Federation, the drones were hidden under the roofs of housings, already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs of the housings were opened remotely, and the drones flew to strike the Russian bombers,” the official said.