As we sped along the highway from Odesa to Kyiv on Sunday, one of the Ukrainian passengers in the car suddenly let out a shout.

The car swerved into a roadside gas station where people were glued to their cell phones.

The news had just broken online about Ukraine’s stunning drone assault on four Russian air bases — two of them thousands of miles inside Russia — which destroyed or damaged 40 strategic bombers used to carry cruise and ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, possibly sidelining one-third of Russia’s fleet.

Snarky memes started pouring onto the messaging app Telegram, ridiculing Vladimir Putin and his hapless air defense system.

“The Russian army is now the second best in Europe,” crowed one popular post. Another aimed its dart at President Donald Trump, pro

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