The recent drone operation by Ukraine against Russian bombers was a demonstration of „skill and daring” comparable to the American operation to kill Osama bin Laden, said American Senator Richard Blumenthal.
The „Spiderweb” operation, led on Sunday by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), hit 41 bomber aircraft and other Russian aircraft, destroying at least 13 planes. The attack caused damages worth $7 billion and took out of service over a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, Kiev claimed.
The SBU announced that 117 drones, launched from trucks scattered across Russian territory, simultaneously attacked airfields in at least four regions - including sites thousands of kilometers away from the Ukrainian border. The targeted airbases housed Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, carrying long-range cruise missiles used in Moscow's aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.
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"Only through the skill and daring of these attacks, they will stand alongside the U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden and the Israeli pager operation, as one of the great military achievements in recent years," Blumenthal said in an interview with Politico.
Bin Laden, the former leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda responsible for the September 11 attacks in the U.S., was killed by American special forces in the compound in Pakistan where he was hiding on May 2, 2011, after a nearly decade-long search by the CIA.
The recent long-range drone attacks from inside Russia counter a "false narrative that Ukraine is losing the war" and could shift momentum in Washington towards increased aid for Ukraine, said the Democratic senator representing Connecticut.
"I can hit airbases 6,400 kilometers away from Ukraine; I can strike anywhere," Blumenthal added.
The White House continues to hesitate to support the bill on sanctions against Russia, but the battlefield momentum could influence President Donald Trump and skeptical lawmakers, the senator mentioned.
Donald Trump has yet to comment on the Ukrainian operation, while the White House confirmed that the American president was not informed in advance about this mission. His special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, stated that the attack shows that Kiev "is not backing down," but warned that an attack on Russia's nuclear plans could risk further escalation of the war.
Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham are co-authors of a new bill that would impose additional sanctions on Russia as it continues to reject a ceasefire.
Congressmen will meet this week in Washington with a Ukrainian delegation - including the head of the Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak - to discuss sanctions and defense cooperation with the United States.