Video footage released by Ukraine is shedding greater light on the toll of Kyiv’s 1 June drone strike against multiple Russian air bases.

The latest video footage released by Ukrainian authorities appears to show dozens of aircraft being impacted by weaponised quadcopter drones, including two of Russia’s critical Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft.

In the aftermath of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the clandestine operation had destroyed 40 of Moscow’s “strategic aviation” units, including bombers capable of carrying cruise missiles.

While initial evidence released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) indicated a handful of Tupolev Tu-95 long-range bombers and one Ilyushin Il-76 transport had been significantly damaged or destroyed, Kyiv supplied no evidence to back up the lofty claim of hitting 40 of Russia’s bombers.

That changed on 4 June, when the SBU released a montage of first-person video footage purportedly showing dozens of aircraft being impacted at close range by remotely piloted weapons. Zelensky had previously said the strike featured 117 remotely piloted quadcopters, each with its own individual operator.

The compiled footage shows more than 30 separate impacts by armed drones, although at least one appears to be striking an aircraft previously damaged by a drone hit. 

Included with the footage are 15 strikes on four-engined Tu-95 turboprop bombers, 16 on Tupolev Tu-22M jet bombers, two hits on Antonov An-12 transports, one single Il-76 transport struck and hits on the two A-50 aerial command post jets, which are derived from the Il-76 airframe.

However, some of the strikes shown may be repeat impacts on the same airframe. The effectiveness of each impact is also unclear.

One aircraft that resembles a Tupolev Tu-160 heavy bomber can be seen ablaze at the end of the footage, although flames and smoke make identification difficult.

A caption in Ukrainian identifies the two A-50s as having been located at Russia’s Ivanovo air base. That facility northeast of Moscow is home to Russia’s 144th Airborne Early Warning Aviation Regiment.

Fleets data from aviation analytics firm Cirium lists only 12 A-50s in the Russian air force inventory – all based at the Ivanovo North air base.

The fate of the two A-50s targeted in the latest strike is unclear, as the video cuts out after each drone impacts its target. In both cases, Ukrainian operators struck the airborne early warning and control jets near the centre of their large dorsal mounted radomes.

Footage from other drones shows significant explosions, aircraft engulfed in flames and large columns of smoke where earlier waves of munitions impacted targets. However, it is unclear exactly how many of the targeted aircraft actually sustained significant damage.

Citing unnamed government sources, Reuters on 4 June reported that US officials believe 20 Russian aircraft were struck, with 10 destroyed. 

Of note is extremely precise targeting by the quadcopter pilots. The strike footage repeatedly shows drones hovering over a target and slowly traversing to impact directly on engines or wet-wing fuel tanks. At least one drone operator steered a payload underneath the wing of a Tu-95 to detonate near the left side landing gear and inboard engine housing.

While much of the focus in the wake of the strike has been on the destruction of strategic bombers, which Moscow has used heavily to launch cruise missiles into Ukrainian cities, the attrition of the A-50 fleet is equally significant.

Russia had already lost two A-50s to hostile activity in 2024; one struck on the ground and another shot down by Ukrainians.

The airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) fleet losses could put Moscow at a disadvantage to NATO, should Russia’s war spread westward.

Playing a similar role to the US-made Boeing E-3 Sentry and Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye, the A-50’s powerful radar is critical to identifying air threats and vectoring in tactical aircraft to engage.

Fighter forces operating without AEW&C support are at a significant disadvantage, both in situational awareness and ability to target enemy aircraft.

NATO headquarters by itself operates a fleet of 14 E-3s, supplemented by the aircraft of member states. The USA’s inventory alone includes 17 E-3s, Cirium says, while France operates four Sentries.

The navies of both countries also operate the carrier-based E-2 – Washington with 86 and Paris with three E-2Cs in service and two of the latest E-2Ds on order.

Sweden, the alliance’s newest member, also had two Erieye radar-equipped Saab 340 aircraft with similar airborne early warning and control capabilities, before gifting them to Ukraine.

NATO member Turkey is also flying four of Boeing’s latest E-7 Wedgetail – successor to the E-3. The UK is preparing to field the first of three planned E-7s, while the US Air Force and NATO headquarters have their own Wedgetail acquisitions planned.

That diverging trend between Russian and Western AEW&C capability could put Moscow at a distinct disadvantage strategically until the Soviet-era A-50s can be replaced.