Overview

• FSB director Alexander Bortnikov leveled the accusation at a CIS security chiefs meeting, alleging British patronage and propaganda backing but offering no public evidence.
• Ukraine’s Security Service said the operation was a unique, multi‑layered mission executed entirely by SBU personnel, with President Volodymyr Zelensky overseeing and SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk directing it.
• Both Kyiv and London deny any direct British operational role in the attacks.
• On June 1, Ukrainian drones struck multiple Russian airbases in Irkutsk, Murmansk, Ryazan and Ivanovo regions, targeting strategic bombers and A‑50 reconnaissance aircraft.
• Damage assessments diverge, with the SBU claiming 41 Russian aircraft were hit while Ukraine’s disinformation center and OSINT analyses report fewer destroyed and additional damaged.