Moment Ukraine backseat gunner shoots down Russian drone from open cockpit - as Putin's Russia is hit by new wave of long-range strikes

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER and WILL STEWART Published: 15:21, 25 July 2026 | Updated: 15:29, 25 July 2026 The moment a Ukrainian backseat gunner shot down several Russian drones from an open cockpit has been caught on camera.  Video footage showed a Yak-52 co-pilot sat in the backseat of the plane before aiming his assault rifle and shooting at the Shahed drones. After firing his rifle in one clip, a thin trail of smoke began to rise from the drones right wing, before the pilot flew closer and it exploded above the sea. The backseat gunner also recorded shooting down enemy drones which burst into flames, detonated after crashing into a field and fell through the clouds. The Shahed drones are Iran's biggest contribution to Vladimir Putin's war which are adapted by Russian forces and used to strike Ukraine. Footage was released after Russia was hit by a new wave of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military, including a hit on a key nuclear missile base. The 'military barracks' in the Saratov region was engulfed in flames following a missile and drone alert today. Engels-2 base is home to Putin's prized strategic nuclear bombers which have been repeatedly used in KH-101 missile strikes on Ukraine. A Ukrainian Yak-52 backseat gunner has shot down a Shahed drone from the plane's open cockpit Footage captured the co-pilot aiming his assault rifle at the Russian drone before shooting it out of the sky The video footage comes as Ukrainian forces are hitting Russia with a wave of long-range strikes There were no reports of any casualties at the airbase located near the city of Engels. The Ukrainian strike came after new intelligence suggests Putin is plotting a massive autumn offensive, having recruited more Russian men to fight, in an attempt to reverse setbacks. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his secret service agents assess Putin is poised for a huge new mobilisation draft in September or October. 'We have clear information from intelligence that Russia is preparing a new wave of mobilisation for the autumn, a rather significant one,' he said. 'At the same time, the Russians are losing more of their soldiers on the front lines than they are recruiting, and Putin intends to increase attacks and expand this war. He needs more Russians to participate in the assaults. 'We must proactively protect ourselves from this – at all levels: on the front lines, through our long-range sanctions, through our mid-range strikes, through our diplomacy, and, of course, through communication with everyone who is able to support life and bring peace closer.' Ukraine has also been flexing its long-distance unmanned aerial power with strikes on oil refineries. A refinery some 1,170 miles from the front line in the Siberian city of Tyumen exploded earlier today. Ukrainian forces have drone striked a Russian oil refinery in the Tyumen region Black smoke erupts from an oil refinery in Ulyanovsk that was hit by Ukrainian drones Russia's Amazon, Wildberries, has been attacked by drones ten times in the last week Putin was visiting Omsk, 338 miles away, before a drone alert was issued ahead of his meeting with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In the Ulyanovsk region, kamikaze drones hit another refinery which burst into flames more than 600 miles away from Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine also shared drone footage in a post on X titled: 'A massive Russian armoured assault on Dobropillia axis ended in failure'. The post showed drones seconds before impact and said Ukrainian forces destroyed nine Russian tanks, two armoured vehicles, three Grad MLRS and dozens of soldiers. Yesterday Ukraine suffered a major blow with a Russian attack on an arms exhibition which killed ten and left 70 wounded. Among the dead was Valentyna Savitska, head of the Centre for International Co-operation and Strategic Communications at the State Security Service. Her husband, Ihor Solovey, head of the Spravdi Centre for Strategic Communications, said: 'My family is experiencing a terrible tragedy.' In the last week, Russia's Amazon, known as Wildberries, has been hit by drones ten times in a blitz of attacks. The latest strike which took place today narrowly missed a warehouse in Yekaterinburg over 1,000 miles from the front line but it did destroy delivery trucks and force workers to flee. It is said that the financial impact the war has had on the Russian economy may soon reach £3billion.