Claims All Are Repairable, If Parts Available

U.S. intelligence personnel assessed that the Ukrainian drone strike against Russian airfields on June 1 actually hit as many as 20 warplanes and about 10 were destroyed, or about half the overall number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, said that all the aircraft will be repaired.

Ryabkov told the Russian state news agency TAAS, "The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defense, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored."

Commercial satellite imagery obtained after the attack shows what analysts say appear to be heavily damaged Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Tu-22 Backfire long-range bombers that Russia has used to launch missiles against Ukraine.

It is not yet clear to what extent Russia will be able to repair the damaged aircraft – if they even can be, given the complexity of the technology and the age of the Soviet-era aircraft – because it depends on the availability of parts, considering the Western sanctions in place that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components.

In a phone call with President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that Moscow would have to respond to the attacks.

FMI:  government.ru/