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Ukraine has launched two major kamikaze drone strikes that took out one of Putin's prized nuclear bombers in a spectacular fireball and caused significant damage to a train station used to supply Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
New footage of the strike on Soltsy airbase in the Novgorod region shows one of Russia's nuclear bombers being swallowed by an enormous fireball.
Smoke billowing from the fireball could be seen for miles around.
Russia's defence ministry tried downplaying the attack, claiming that just one of the bombers was hit:
'The Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack using a copter-type UAV on a military airfield in Novgorod region.
'As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the aircraft parking lot, which was promptly eliminated by fire brigades.
New footage of the strike on Soltsy airbase in the Novgorod region shows one of Russia's nuclear bombers being swallowed by an enormous fireball
Smoke from the fireball that consumed the supersonic bomber could be seen for miles around
'One plane was damaged, but there were no casualties as a result of the terrorist attack,' it added.
But Ukrainian sources countered this claim, saying that two Tu-22M3 bombers were badly damaged.
On top of this, the Institute for the Study of War said a Russian insider told them that the fire damaged at least two aircraft.
Russian media has since reported that at least six of the supersonic bombers have been relocated to Olenya airbase, nearly 1,000 miles away.
The attack on the prized bomber came a day before a major railway station was also attacked in a suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drone strike.
There was a fire and damage to the roof and facade of the Kursk train station on a line used to transport weapons, troops and ammunition to Vladimir Putin's illegal war against Ukraine.
Footage showed the moment of attack as drone attacks were also reported in Moscow and Rostov region.
The Russians claimed the drone was disrupted by air defences and it was debris which fell on the roof of the railway station causing a fire.
Five people were reported injured by glass fragments, said regional governor Roman Starovoit.
In Rostov region, two drones hit a military base in Kamensk, said regional governor Vasily Golubev.
Another drone hit Novoshakhtinsk in the same region.
The total damage caused by the strikes was not immediately clear.
In Moscow, aircraft-type kamikaze drones aimed at the capital were downed using electronic warfare equipment, said the Russian defence ministry.
Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said: 'At night an attempt was made to fly a drone to Moscow from a southerly direction.
Footage showed the moment of attack as drone attacks were also reported in Moscow and Rostov region
The total damage caused by Ukraine's kamikaze strikes was not immediately clear
The Russians claimed the drone was disrupted by air defences and it was debris which fell on the roof of the railway station causing a fire
Ukraine has claimed it will be taking the war back 'to the territory of Russia'
Ukraine is planning on targeting Russia's 'symbolic centres and military bases' with attacks
The attack on Kursk's train station came as several drone hit military targets in the Rostov region
'It was stopped by the air defence forces.'
The attacks, which were both caught on tape, come just weeks after Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that 'the war is returning to the territory of Russia.'
He said in late July during one of his nightly addresses to Ukraine's citizens that the country's military would be targeting Russia's 'symbolic centres and military bases.'
'This is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,' he added.
A Ukrainian airforce spokesperson added at the time that Russians were already facing the backlash of the invasion.
'All of the people who think the war 'doesn't concern them' – it's already touching them,' Yurii Ihnat said in late July.
'There's already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly. There's no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior any more. They got what they wanted.'
