Drones are “here and because they're ubiquitous, because they are quite useful and they're demonstrating that every day in Ukraine,” one analyst told NBC News.

The covert operation was described as one for the “history books” by Ukraine’s president. According to Ukrainian officials, nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory in the span of a few hours on Sunday.

Ukrainian sources claim more than 40 Russian aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Commercial satellite imagery confirms significant fire damage, cratered runways, and blast patterns across multiple sites, although the full extent of losses remains disputed.