General: Ukraine's successful operation sign of Russian intelligence's weakness
The successful Ukrainian operation to destroy Russian bomber aircraft demonstrates both the strength of Ukrainian intelligence and the weakness of Russian intelligence, retired Maj. Gen. Neeme Väli told ERR.
Over the weekend, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) carried out a major special operation to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. According to the SBU, more than 40 Russian bombers were hit at air force bases located inside Russia.
Maj. Gen. Neeme Väli said the operation showed that Ukrainian intelligence is functioning at a very high level.
"This demonstrates that the network they have inside Russia enables them to act in this way and carry out such operations. But on the other hand, it also highlights the weakness of Russian intelligence efforts. And this is not the first time," Väli told ERR.
Väli assessed that the successful Ukrainian operation was a major blow to Russia.
"First of all, the fact that the Ukrainians were able to organize something on this scale at all. We're talking about the depths of Russia — not about missiles or drones flying thousands of kilometers, but about directing the entire operation from within Russian territory. Secondly, the strategic bombers that were destroyed had largely been used to attack Ukraine, and now Russia simply has fewer of those assets," Väli said.
"Thirdly, some of the strategic bombers that were hit are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and are a key part of Russia's nuclear deterrent. That component is now significantly weakened, which is undoubtedly a very bad sign for Russia. We're talking about damage amounting to billions, and compensating for that kind of loss given Russia's current capabilities is a major question mark," he added.
According to Väli, one should not underestimate Russia's capacity to learn, and it will likely be more difficult for Ukraine to carry out similar strikes in the future.
"One can assume that some Russian commanders will be removed and heads will certainly roll over this. But this opportunity has now been used, and I believe it will be significantly more difficult for Ukraine to pull off something similar in the near term. Still, they'll learn from this, and the Ukrainians will surely come up with something entirely different that works just as effectively," Väli said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Marko Tooming
