A “great hits” video shows a Ukrainian drone striking a parked Russian plane

As both sides in the war in Ukraine continue a campaign of long-range drone strikes, the Ukrainian government’s Internal Security Agency has released a compilation of strikes directed against Russian airbases. The video, published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), records drone strikes against Russian military aircraft by its special forces unit, “Alpha Group”, also known as the “A” Special Operations Center.

“The enemy is used to feeling safe in the deep rear. But for the special forces of “Alpha”, the distance has long been different,” the SBU wrote in a post with a video on social media.

The footage shows several Russian planes being targeted by attack drones. It appears that most, if not all, of these strikes were already claimed, and some were previously seen as video stills. But the end result is certainly impressive, predictable all The target aircraft were damaged or destroyed – which is not clear from these videos.

The SBU claimed that the total value of the damage was over $1 billion, although it is unclear how this was calculated, especially given that some of the airframes in question are decades old and no longer in production. It is also worth noting that the SBU’s figures include damage to ammunition and fuel depots at the airfields in question.

Regardless, the 15 aircraft targeted by the SBU appear to include:

From what can be seen, the An-26 appears to be damaged beyond repair, while a Su-24 appears to have at least its tail section damaged; Available satellite imagery may show a destroyed Su-24, but the quality of the imagery means this cannot be determined with certainty.

The planes were targeted at five different airfields, the SBU said, without disclosing their exact locations.

However, based on open source analysis, it appears that the bases targeted were Belbek, Kirovskoye, Saki, and Simferopol, all in Russian-controlled Crimea.

The growing threat of such attacks on airbases has prompted Russia to build new hardened aircraft shelters and begin building more to help protect aircraft from drone attacks and other indirect fire. It is part of a broader push by the Russian military to improve physical security at several airfields following the launch of a full-scale attack on Ukraine.

The airfield attacks highlighted in the video are part of a broader Ukrainian drone campaign last year, in which the SBU also targeted Russian air defense systems, radar installations, and critical energy infrastructure.

As for air defense systems, the SBU claims to have destroyed an estimated $4 billion worth of Russian equipment last year. These included the S-300, S-350, and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as advanced radar systems such as Nebo-M, Podlet, and Protivnik-GE.

In 2025, Ukraine also carried out the spectacular Operation Spiderweb, a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike against airbases across Russia in June. It targeted Moscow’s fleet of strategic bombers and reportedly launched 117 drones against at least four airfields.

It is also worth noting that the specific Ukrainian campaign against Russian airfields was brought up by US President Donald Trump in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last summer. The timing of that call suggests that Operation Spiderweb prompted that discussion.

A lot of people are reposting this Trump Truth social post as if it’s recent (in part because Ukraine released another video of them shooting down parked Russian fighter jets), but it’s actually from last summer. pic.twitter.com/8jodT8bm7H

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) January 29, 2026

Ukraine’s ability to strike high-value Russian targets at considerable range has been strengthened through long-range cruise missiles, as well as an expanding inventory of both large and small attack drones.

Meanwhile, the SBU continues its long-range drone strikes.

Overnight on January 13, the security agency, together with the Ukrainian navy, attacked a drone production facility in Taganrog, where several production halls appeared to have been destroyed based on satellite analysis.

Ukrainian defenders destroy several warehouses at the Atlant Aero plant in Taganrog, Russia. Combat drones and their parts are produced there.

Glory! pic.twitter.com/P6RcfpXtbl

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 16, 2026

The facility in question, the Atlant Aero Factory, is responsible for producing, among others, Russia’s Molnya Loitering Gun, widely used in Ukraine.

It is said that the Ukrainian army attacked and set fire to the Russian drone factory in the city of Taganrog tonight.

Several explosions were reported at Atlant Drone Company, maker of the Molnia-series attack drones. pic.twitter.com/yr3SA3b7gV

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 13, 2026

Drones are being used to strike enemy facilities producing drones that are very indicative of the path the war has taken, when it comes to the increased use and variety of unfamiliar systems on all fronts.

For its part, Russia used a BM-35 loitering weapon to attack what it claimed were Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets at Kanatov Air Base in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region on January 26. In fact, the target was either a decoy or a ground-directing aid, something Dr.

This is not the first time that a Russian drone strike has claimed to be a fake of a Ukrainian plane, but once again shows the potential vulnerability of airfields to such attacks.

Notably, the BM-35 drone used in the strike is reported to use satellite connectivity via Starlink, which allows operators to control it in real time over long distances.

The SBU’s latest ‘greatest hits’ compilation underlines how drone attacks on Russian military aircraft are one of its top priorities and one we will surely see targeted again in the coming months.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com