Russia vows to repair planes damaged by Ukraine in massive drone attack, claims they were ‘not destroyed’

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Senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reports on Ukraine and Russia meeting for peace talks in Turkey and senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane breaks down Ukraine’s largest attack on Russia since the beginning of the war. 

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Russia is vowing Thursday to repair the warplanes damaged by Ukraine in a massive drone attack earlier this week, with an official claiming they were “not destroyed but damaged.” 

The comments from Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov come after Ukraine said its forces destroyed 40 of Russia’s most powerful bomber jets and surveillance planes in “Operation Spider’s Web,” a series of coordinated drone strikes Sunday penetrating deep into Russian territory. 

“As the defense ministry said, these aircraft were not destroyed but damaged. They will be repaired,” Ryabkov was quoted telling Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. 

However, satellite images of Russian airfields show extensive damage to the planes. 

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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage from a Ukrainian drone attack at the Belaya Air Base in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia, Russia, on Wednesday, June 4. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Video released by Ukraine also showed the parked aircraft bursting into fireballs after being struck by the drones. 

Two U.S. officials told Reuters that the U.S. believes up to 20 warplanes were hit and 10 destroyed in the operation. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally oversaw the strike, which sources told Fox News was more than 18 months in the making. The White House confirmed to Fox News that the Trump administration was not informed about the attack in advance.  

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A Ukrainian drone strikes Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory. (Source in the Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Security Service said Ukraine carried out a massive underwater blast targeting a bridge linking Russia to Crimea.  

The same day, Zelenskyy said Russia launched a “savage strike” on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, “directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery.”

President Donald Trump also said Wednesday that he spoke over the phone with President Vladimir Putin, who said Russia would have to respond to the drone strikes. 

An explosion is seen Tuesday, June 3, along the Kerch Bridge linking Russia and Crimea. (APTN/Ukrainian Security Service)

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“We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.” 

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace, Jasmine Baehr, Alex Miller and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.