Why Ukraine's Surprise Attack Is Being Called 'Russia's Pearl Harbor' | rssama.com

Ukraine’s drone onslaught connected warplanes astatine Russian aerial bases arsenic heavy into nan state arsenic Siberia has shocked U.S. subject commentators for its sheer audacity.

The Security Service of Ukraine claimed Sunday’s alleged Operation Spider’s Web had caused sizeable harm to Russia, destroying astir one-third of its fleet of aerial rocket carriers, immoderate of which tin not beryllium produced again, pinch damages estimated astatine $7 billion.

Aside from nan strategical and financial gut punch to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid stagnant peace talks successful Istanbul, nan ambush triggered headlines for really Ukraine managed to execute truthful overmuch pinch truthful little. One journalist suggested nan fleet of drones deployed by Ukraine costs astir $160,000.

In short, Ukrainian spies managed to sneak explosive-laden drones heavy into Russian territory into wrong woody sheds by truck, and past launched them by distant control. Daring isn’t nan word.

For bully reason, nan onslaught was instantly compared to nan legendary Trojan War, wherever Greeks hid wrong a elephantine woody equine earlier bursting retired to laic siege to nan Trojan force forces.

The astonishment onslaught has besides been likened to Japan’s improbable battle connected Pearl Harbor during World War II that brought nan U.S. into nan conflict, pinch 1 expert arguing they some changed nan rules of warfare.

So what happened?

The onslaught took much than a twelvemonth and a half to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose activity has travel nether mobility amid his troubled narration pinch President Donald Trump and their clash astatine nan White House successful February.

Across various reports, Ukraine subject officials person explained really astir 120 artificial intelligence-powered first-person position (FPV) drones were efficaciously smuggled into Russia.

The drones were placed successful mobile woody sheds, and hidden nether nan roofs of nan structures. They were past placed connected trucks and driven by unwitting Russians to nan perimeter of 4 aerial bases. The tile panels of nan sheds were lifted disconnected by a remotely activated mechanism, which allowed a unreality of drones to alert retired and statesman their attack.

The drones deed 41 planes stationed astatine subject airfields connected Sunday afternoon, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft. They correspond immoderate of Russia’s astir important long-range strategical bombers.

In a connection to nan BBC, Ukraine’s concealed work said an aerial guidelines successful nan Irkutsk region of Siberia, much than 2,500 miles from Ukraine, had been hit. and accommodation successful nan Murmansk, Ryazan and Ivanovo regions were besides damaged. The Russian defense ministry claimed immoderate of nan attacks had been repelled.

Irkutsk is beyond nan scope of nan weapons Ukraine has astatine its disposal, truthful it required a cunning scheme to get nan drones adjacent capable to their targets.

The harm was recorded connected societal media, pinch footage shared by Russian media appearing to show nan drones rising from wrong nan containers and fume pouring from aerial bases.

He said, “A consequence achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and 9 days from nan commencement of readying to effective execution. Our astir long-range operation.”

Ukrainian drone strikes deed subject airfields successful Russia's Murmansk, Ryazan, Irkutsk, and Ivanovo regions.

Anadolu via Getty Images

Why nan Pearl Harbor comparison?

As specifications of nan onslaught emerged, galore connected social media alluded to Japan’s astonishment aerial ambush connected Pearl Harbor connected Oahu Island, Hawaii, successful December 1941, nan onslaught that became nan impetus for nan United States’ entranceway into World War II. Others rejected nan analogy, arguing nan harm was really acold little important than Ukraine suggested.

Washington Post columnist Max Boot on Sunday wrote that “almost nary 1 had imagined that nan Japanese could sneak crossed an full water to onslaught an ‘impregnable fortress,’ arsenic U.S. strategists had described Hawaii. Yet that is conscionable what they did.”

In conscionable complete an hour, nan Japanese craft launched from six craft carriers destroyed much than 180 craft and destroyed aliases damaged much than a twelve ships.

Boot noted that Japan “rewrote nan rules of warfare” successful 1941, and that nan Ukrainians “rewrote nan rules of warfare again connected Sunday.”

“The Russian precocious bid must person been arsenic shocked arsenic nan Americans were successful 1941,” he added.

What has nan U.S. subject said?

Neither Trump nor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth person publically commented. But a elder U.S. defense charismatic told The Associated Press that nan onslaught represented a level of sophistication nan U.S. had not seen before, and erstwhile American generals appeared arsenic impressed.

Retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis, who served arsenic nan erstwhile NATO ultimate allied commander, explained to CNN that nan scope of nan onslaught was akin to Los Angeles being targeted from Washington, D.C.

He added, “I’m Greek American, truthful I’ve sewage to springiness you this. It’s benignant of nan Trojan horse. These woody crates they’ve sewage pushed into nan state and abruptly sprouting distant from it are these warriors destroying each of these planes, nary of them quality beings. It’s really rather a singular subject feat.”

Writing connected X successful praise of nan mission, retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who served arsenic commandant of U.S. Army Europe, referred to Trump telling Zelenskyy he had “no cards” pinch which to discuss astatine nan awkward White House meeting.

He said, “For months, immoderate believed that Ukraine didn’t ‘hold immoderate cards.’ Many of america person refuted that claim, saying an inflection constituent ... would soon beryllium felt connected nan battlefield.”

“The coordinated and synchronized onslaught today, which appears to person decimated overmuch of nan Russian aerial fleet that were based complete 4,000 km from nan beforehand line, is showing that Ukraine surely has galore aces successful nan hole,” he added.

Plumes of fume are seen rising complete nan Belaya aerial guidelines successful nan Irkutsk region successful eastbound Siberia aft a Ukrainian drone onslaught successful nan Irkutsk region, much than 2,500 miles from Ukraine.

Associated Press