BREAKING NEWS LIVE UPDATE: HOLY CR@P! Ukraine Destroying Bombers & Airbases as We Watch!
Table of Contents 📖
Hello Team
🎦 00:00-00:50⏩
Jonathan M.S. Pearce welcomes viewers to an impromptu, breaking news live update on the Ukraine War. He admits the broadcast is chaotic due to the rapidly unfolding, significant events, which he describes as "fairly groundbreaking."
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Initial Reports of Massive Russian Drone Attack & Ukrainian Counter-Strikes
🎦 00:50-02:22⏩
Jonathan reports that Ukraine faced its largest ever overnight drone attack, with 472 drones launched by Russia, of which 385 were intercepted, leaving 87 that got through. Despite this, Ukraine has responded with "insanely effective" simultaneous drone strikes on two strategic bomber airbases deep within Russia. Jonathan highlights the groundbreaking nature of live footage emerging from these remote strike locations, suggesting sophisticated intelligence gathering by Ukraine.
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Airbase Strikes: Olenia (Murmansk) and Belaya (Irkutsk)
🎦 02:22-05:50⏩
Initial reports focused on the Olenia airbase near Murmansk (approx. 1,800 km from Ukraine), a crucial base for strategic bombers launching cruise missiles. However, Jonathan suspected a second strike location due to differing smoke imagery. It was confirmed that the Belaya Air Base in the Irkutsk region (approx. 4,000 km from Ukraine) was also hit. This marks Ukraine's furthest drone attack of the war. Both bases house strategic bombers (Tu-95 MS, Tu-160, Tu-22M3) used for long-range missile strikes against Ukraine.
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Visual Confirmation of Bomber Damage and FPV Drone Use
🎦 05:50-09:21⏩
Footage from the strikes, including FPV (First Person View) drone videos, shows strategic bombers ablaze and significant damage to aircraft. One particularly striking video shows an FPV drone flying over a bomber, seemingly protected by tyres, before exploding upon impact. The presence of FPV drones captured by locals flying overhead near the airbases suggests that these drones were launched locally, not from Ukraine itself.
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Confirmation of Multiple Airbase Attacks and Suspected "Truck Launch" Method
🎦 09:21-15:03⏩
Russian soldiers have reportedly confirmed the destruction of strategic bombers. Jonathan, citing Benny Pies and Anton Gerashchenko, confirms that four airbases were struck simultaneously: Belaya (Irkutsk), Olenia (Murmansk), Ivanovo, and Dyagilevo (Ryazan region). Russian media reports indicate that the drones were launched from trucks parked near the airbases. A specific incident was reported near Ollongorsk (Olenia) where a lorry driver, unaware of the payload, was asked to park his truck at a petrol station, from which drones then launched. Jonathan describes this as "absolutely just incredible" and a "really clever way around the problem."
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Impact and Strategic Importance of the Attacks
🎦 15:03-19:37⏩
Jonathan views these strikes as a "hand-winning trick" for Ukraine, shifting momentum and generating positive PR. He acknowledges the cleverness of the "truck launch" method but notes Russia will likely implement new security measures. Shashank Joshi, defence correspondent for The Economist, lauded it as a "remarkable achievement" demonstrating Ukraine's impressive deep strike capability even without US intelligence. The strikes are hugely significant as strategic bombers are expensive, difficult to build, and nearly impossible for Russia to replace quickly due to sanctions. Jonathan states that even if only a fraction of the claimed 40 aircraft damaged is true, it is an "absolutely incredible" achievement.
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"Operation Spider Web" and Russian Drone Production
🎦 19:37-25:29⏩
Ukraine's SBU named this coordinated operation "Operation Spider Web." The SBU claims over 40 Russian bombers were destroyed, amounting to over $2 billion in losses. Jonathan suggests these figures are likely reliable given the scale of the attacks on four bases. He shifts focus to Russia's massive Shahed drone production (potentially 500 per day), stressing Ukraine's urgent need to target manufacturing facilities and boost its own interceptor drone production. He notes a recent success where a Ukrainian unit intercepted 15 drones with interceptors. He believes interceptor drones will become a crucial component of Ukraine's air defence, as they are harder for Russia to counter than electronic warfare measures.
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Additional Explosion in Severomorsk (Nuclear Submarine Base)
🎦 25:29-29:50⏩
During the live update, Jonathan receives breaking news of a powerful explosion in Severomorsk, a Russian city known as the home to nuclear submarines and an administrative base for the Northern Fleet. He expresses shock, stating "Holy crapola!" and notes the widespread nature of the Ukrainian activity, indicating that "the Ukrainians appear to be doing quite a lot at the moment."
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Conclusion and Future Implications
🎦 29:50-31:30⏩
Jonathan expresses satisfaction in reporting on events that benefit Ukraine, particularly the destruction of Russian military equipment. He emphasizes that the value of these destroyed assets is "priceless" beyond monetary cost, as Russia cannot readily replace them due to sanctions and manufacturing constraints. He expects these attacks to be major news globally (citing the BBC already reporting) and hopes they will significantly reduce the number of cruise missiles launched into Ukrainian airspace. He suggests this coordinated "spider web" operation may have been long in the planning.
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Wrap up
🎦 31:30-31:36⏩
Jonathan thanks his audience for watching the breaking news update and assures them he will continue to provide updates if more information or footage emerges throughout the day. He expresses hope for further reporting on Russian military destruction.
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🤖❓ AI Debrief (post task) - anything the AI didn't understand
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