Video has emerged purporting to show a man preparing and placing explosives on a Russian military helicopter at an air base deep inside Russia.   

  Later satellite images show several damaged helicopters at the base in the Pskov region of northern Russia.  The base is about 35 kilometers from the border with Latvia, but almost 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine.   

  The sabotage of the helicopters is the furthest from Ukrainian soil a confirmed attack against a Russian military target since the beginning of the conflict.   

  The video shows an unidentified man placing something inside a helicopter.  At one point he puts something in his ear, possibly a stopwatch.  At another moment, a Ka-52 attack helicopter is clearly visible.   

  The video was taken in broad daylight, but the explosions did not occur until after nightfall, according to unofficial Russian media.  CNN located the video at the Veretye ​​base in Beredniki.   

  The Defense Intelligence Service of Ukraine announced on Tuesday that “a powerful explosion occurred at the airbase of the Russian Armed Forces “Veretier” on the night of October 31.”   

  Although he did not claim that a Ukrainian sabotage unit carried out the attack, he said that “as a result of the mining, two Russian attack helicopters (KA-52) and an MI-28N were completely destroyed.  Two more suffered significant damage.”   

  A satellite image released on Tuesday showed several damaged helicopters at the base, and an unofficial Russian media outlet reported explosions there.   

  Telegram channel Baza said: “Around 10 p.m [on October 31], the military personnel of the unit heard several explosions, and then saw the scattered wreckage of two helicopters.  The explosion was so powerful that fragments of the fuselage were scattered 200 meters around.  The cause of the Ka-52 explosion is unknown.”   

  Such a bold attack, so far from the country’s territory, would be a first for Ukraine’s special forces.  Although there is no confirmation that they carried out the sabotage attack, the speed with which the Ukrainian intelligence service reported the details of the incident is interesting to say the least.   

  The symbolism of sabotage is perhaps more important than its military consequences.  Russia has hundreds of combat helicopters and the ones that were damaged were nowhere near the theater.   

  Ukrainian officials typically refuse to report any attacks in Russia itself, or even in annexed Crimea, but there have been several attacks much closer to Ukrainian soil since the Russian invasion began.  Railway lines are damaged in Belgorod, as are ammunition depots.   

  Millerovo Air Base in the Rostov region was hit – apparently by Tochka missiles – right at the beginning of the conflict and several aircraft were damaged.  And it is still unknown whether a devastating attack on a Russian air base in Crimea in August was carried out by special forces on the ground or by missiles.   

  The exact cause of last month’s attack on the Kerch bridge is also unknown.  And it seems that Ukrainians are quite happy not to recognize such attacks.