In a landmark covert operation, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) launched a devastating drone strike deep into Russian territory, damaging or destroying 41 strategic bombers across four air bases, according to an SBU source.
Codenamed Spiderweb, the operation had been in planning for over 18 months. It relied on FPV drones that were smuggled into Russia and concealed inside mobile wooden cabins mounted on trucks. At the designated time, the cabins’ roofs were opened remotely, allowing the drones to take off and strike their targets with surgical precision.
Airfields hit include the Belaya base in Irkutsk Oblast – more than 4,000 kilometers from Ukraine – as well as Olenya, Diaghilev and Ivanovo air bases. Confirmed targets include A-50 airborne early warning aircraft, Tu-95s and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers – aircraft routinely used by Moscow to launch long-range missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.
“In general, we are talking about hitting 34 percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation. This was not just a devastating blow to enemy aircraft, but a serious slap in the face of the power and terrorist essence of the Russian Federation,” said Head of the SBU, Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk.
According to the SBU, the operation caused an estimated $7 billion in damage and disabled over a third of Russia’s cruise missile launch platforms. A video shared by the agency appears to show several bombers engulfed in flames.
“This is only the beginning,” said Maliuk, confirming the operation on June 2. “Our strikes will continue as long as Russia uses missiles and Shaheds to terrorize Ukrainian civilians.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the mission as “brilliant,” noting that it was orchestrated from inside Russia, right next to an FSB headquarters. He revealed that 117 drones were used in the strike, each with its own operator.
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged the attack, calling it a “terrorist act” that ignited aircraft at multiple bases. Regional officials in Irkutsk and Murmansk confirmed drone activity tied to parked trucks.
The unprecedented long-range strike is likely one of the most cost asymmetric military operations in history, with billion dollar losses inflicted by relatively inexpensive drones.
In addition to the airbase strikes, the SBU’s Spiderweb operation appears to have coincided with other acts of sabotage across Russia. Reports emerged of explosions damaging a military transport train in the Voronezh region and a fuel depot in the Krasnodar Krai, although Ukrainian officials have not publicly confirmed responsibility for these additional incidents.
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