Another massive secret Ukraine drone blitz pummels Putin as 15 aircraft are struck THOUSANDS of miles deep inside Russia

UKRAINE has hammered Russia’s air force with attacks on 15 aircraft thousands of miles behind the front lines.

Dramatic drone footage showed strikes on 15 aircraft including 11 Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets, three helicopters and an Antonov An-26 cargo plane.

Ukraine’s SBU spy service used long-range drones to strike 15 Russian aircraft at five airfieldsCredit: Security Service of Ukraine

The attacks destroyed 11 fighter jets, three helicopters, and one cargo plane, valued at over $1 billionCredit: Security Service of Ukraine

The strikes also targeted fuel and ammunition depots, causing further damage to Russian military assetsCredit: Security Service of Ukraine

The SBU spy service claimed the blitz wiped out more than $1 billion worth of Russian military hardware.

The audacious operation saw Ukrainian long-range drones punch deep into Russia, slamming five separate military airfields in undisclosed locations far from the battlefield.

Ukraine’s Security Service said its elite Alpha unit was behind the strikes, which hit the heart of Vladimir Putin’s air power and left aircraft burning on runways.

The destroyed fleet included Su-30SM and Su-34 jets – some of Moscow’s most important frontline strike aircraft – alongside older Su-27 and Su-24 fighters still heavily used to bomb Ukraine.

Also lost were MiG-31 interceptors, a key pillar of Russia’s air defence network and a launch platform for hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

Among the wreckage were three helicopters – Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28 – crippling Russian transport, logistics and close-air support capabilities in one hit.

The SBU said fuel and ammunition depots at the airfields also went up in flames, compounding the damage.

In a message, the agency said: “Last year alone, five military airfields were hit by our long-range drones. The result is that the enemy will no longer be able to lift 15 aircraft into the sky.”

The strikes cap a devastating series of blows to Mad Vlad’s air defences.

Earlier this month, Ukraine said the same Alpha unit destroyed or disabled Russian air defence systems worth an estimated $4 billion, United24 Media reported.

Launchers including the S-300, S-350 and S-400, as well as advanced radar systems were hit.

The humiliation for Moscow comes as Volodymyr Zelensky ramps up pressure for a diplomatic showdown with Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky has challenged the Kremlin tyrant to meet face-to-face for the first time since the invasion began, as casualties edge towards two million.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Zelensky is ready to confront Putin directly over the two deadlocked issues blocking peace: Russia’s illegal land grab in eastern Ukraine and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged Vladimir Putin to meet face-to-face for peace talksCredit: AFP

Previous trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, involving the US, ended without a major breakthrough on the core disagreementsCredit: EPA

Putin remains obsessed on devouring all of the Donbas region and says he will only stop his invasion if Zelensky gives up the whole territoryCredit: AFP

He said on Wednesday: “It is precisely to address these issues that the president is ready to meet with Putin and discuss them.”

The comments follow rare trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi last week.

American officials said discussions went “better than expected”, raising hopes a leaders’ summit could follow – though no breakthrough was reached.

Putin remains fixated on swallowing the entire Donbas region and is refusing to halt the war unless Ukraine surrenders territory it has spent four years fighting to defend.

But Kyiv has flatly rejected the demand.

Meanwhile, a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the war has already caused more than 1.8 million casualties, with the total set to hit two million by spring.

Russia has suffered the heaviest losses – around 1.2 million casualties, including an estimated 325,000 dead.

Ukraine’s losses are believed to exceed 140,000 killed, with Zelensky saying last week around 46,000 Ukrainian troops have died since the invasion.

The scale of the carnage marks the worst casualty rates of any conflict since World War Two.

Despite the losses, Putin has refused to publish a Russian death toll since September 2022.

And while Ukrainian drones scorch Russian airfields, Putin’s forces continue to target civilians.

Overnight strikes on Kyiv killed a mother and father, leaving their four-year-old child orphaned.

In Kharkiv, terrified passengers fled a train packed with more than 200 civilians after it was hit by Russian drones.

At least four people were killed, with Zelensky later branding the attack “an act of terrorism.”

Western intelligence fears are now mounting that Putin is leaning on China to help develop nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons, with specialised machinery reportedly being supplied for warhead production, according to The Telegraph.

Rescuers work on a scene after Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on WednesdayCredit: AP

The destruction after Russian forces attacked Zaporizhia at dawnCredit: Getty