Images posted on social media and analysed by BBC Verify show a Tupolev Tu-22 on fire at Soltsy-2 airbase, south of St Petersburg.
However, images posted on the social media platform Telegram showed a large fire engulfing a jet with the distinctive nose cone of the Tu-22.
While the destruction of a single aircraft will have little effect on the potency of Moscow’s current 60-strong fleet, the operation highlights Kyiv’s growing ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Kyiv has over recent months launched dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft to attack Moscow, a journey of several hundred miles.
However, the Russian MoD’s description of the drone as a “copter-type UAV” suggests a cheap, commercially available device launched at short range.
BBC Verify confirmed the location of the Ukrainian drone attack on Soltsy-2 by comparing visual clues - such as the appearance of aircraft and bays - to historical satellite images of the airbase.
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