Russia Relocates $500M Tu-160 Bombers After Ukrainian Drone Attacks

Following a coordinated Ukrainian drone attack known as Operation Spider's Web on June 1, Russia relocated two of its most valuable supersonic Tu-160 strategic bombers, each valued at around $500 million, to the remote Anadyr airbase on the Chukotka Peninsula. This Cold War-era base, located over 4,000 miles from the Ukrainian front and near Alaska, is accessible only by air and sea, highlighting a strategic move by Moscow to shield its rare and nuclear-capable bombers from further drone strikes. The Ukrainian operation, meticulously planned over 18 months under President Volodymyr Zelensky's oversight, involved 117 drones launched simultaneously across three time zones, severely damaging Russia's long-range bomber fleet, with estimates suggesting a 34% reduction in operational bombers including the Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 models. Ukrainian drones were smuggled into Russia inside modified wooden cabins on trucks, evading detection near Russian security offices, indicating significant intelligence and security failures within Russia. Experts, including Prof Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute, interpret the relocation as a Kremlin effort to mitigate additional drone threats. Despite Kremlin denials, the scale of the damage and the strategic withdrawal underscore the vulnerability of Russia's strategic aviation and the effectiveness of Ukraine's new drone warfare tactics.