Will repair warplanes damaged in Ukrainian drone attacks: Russia

Russian warplanes were damaged, but not destroyed in a June 1 attack by Ukraine, and they will be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Ukrainian drones struck airfields in Siberia and the far north where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces.

The US assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But Ryabkov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, said: "The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defence, was not destroyed, but damaged. It will be restored."

It was not immediately clear how swiftly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft — if at all — given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to the attacks, Trump said.

Russia has an estimated fleet of 67 strategic bombers, including 52 Tu-95s, known as Bear-H by NATO, and 15 Tu-160s, known as Blackjacks, of which about 58 are thought to be deployed. In addition, it has 289 non-strategic fighters and bombers, including Tu-22s, Su-24s, Su-34s and MiG-31s.

Russia has given no detail about which aircraft were damaged but said that Ukraine targeted five airbases.