Part I: The Sting
What Happened—and Why It Matters
This article is part of “Operation Spider’s Web,” a five-part report examining Ukraine’s long-range sabotage strike on Russian bomber bases.
In the early hours of June 1, 2025, Ukraine launched the most audacious strike of the war so far—deep behind Russian lines, across thousands of kilometers, and straight into the distributed heart of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet.
Operation “Spider’s Web,” as it was later revealed, wasn’t just a long-range drone attack. It was a coordinated, multi-target assault involving months of planning, improvised launch platforms, human infiltration, and over 100 remotely piloted drones. And by morning, at least 40 Russian aircraft were damaged or destroyed—including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, and possibly an A-50 radar plane.
It was not just a battlefield victory. It was a message.
Ukraine showed that it could reach beyond the front lines—beyond the border, beyond the expected. It could strike at the very tools Russia uses to rain destruction on Ukrainian cities. And it could do so without NATO munitions, without Western long-range missiles, and without losing its own operators. According to President Zelenskyy, all Ukrainian personnel involved were extracted safely before the first drone took flight.
A Third of the Fleet, Gone
While numbers are still being refined, Ukrainian officials estimate that the strikes neutralized roughly a third of Russia’s long-range missile bomber fleet, inflicting an estimated $7 billion in damage. Independent satellite imagery supports this: at Belaya airbase alone, at least eight Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s were visibly destroyed. Russian regional governors confirmed explosions and aircraft fires at multiple sites, including Olenya and Dyagilevo.
In total, the operation targeted five airfields across three time zones, from the Arctic to Irkutsk—some 4,300 km from the Ukrainian border. No long-range missile could have reached them from Ukrainian soil. These drones didn’t fly from Ukraine. They were launched inside Russia.
The Strategic Shock
This wasn’t the first time Ukraine struck inside Russian territory, but it was the first time they struck so far, so precisely, and at such scale. More than a tactical disruption, it was a strategic shock.
The bombers destroyed at Belaya and Olenya weren’t just hardware—they were launch platforms for Russia’s Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles. They were the engine of Russia’s winter bombardment campaigns. With them grounded, Ukraine’s skies may be quieter. Russia’s threat projection may be thinner. And Putin’s nuclear signaling—built partly around bomber presence—suddenly looks more vulnerable than it did the day before.
Russia Responds—But Admits the Hit
The Russian Ministry of Defence couldn’t deny the operation entirely. While it framed the attacks as “terrorist provocations,” it acknowledged that multiple aircraft caught fire at two of the bases. Pro-war bloggers and Telegram channels were less restrained—one called it “Russia’s Pearl Harbor.”
In response, Russia launched missile strikes into Ukraine the same day, targeting what it described as drone command posts and training facilities. At least one Ukrainian military training ground was hit, with reported casualties. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy used the moment to highlight Ukraine’s growing asymmetric capabilities—and to double down on Ukraine’s right to strike military targets inside Russia.
A Message Sent, and Received
The sting of Spider’s Web wasn’t just felt in flames and smoke. It was heard—by Russia’s public, by the world’s defense ministries, and by negotiators preparing to sit down in Istanbul the very next day for peace talks.
It said: Ukraine can reach you. Ukraine can find the holes in your armor. And Ukraine doesn’t have to wait for permission.
→ Continue to Part II: The Bait
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