Russia says it will repair warplanes damaged by Ukraine's drones

5/6/2025 16:28

Russian warplanes were damaged but not destroyed in a June 1 attack by Ukraine, and they will be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.



Ukrainian strikes targeted airfields in Siberia and the far north where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces.



The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, two U.S. officials told Reuters, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.



But Ryabkov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, told state news agency TASS: "The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defence, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored."



It was not immediately clear how swiftly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft - if at all - given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components.