This article is part of “Operation Spider’s Web,” a five-part report examining Ukraine’s long-range sabotage strike on Russian bomber bases.
The most remarkable thing about Operation Spider’s Web isn’t what Ukraine hit. It’s how they got there.
You don’t fly a drone 4,000 kilometers. Not from Ukrainian soil. Not without being intercepted. These weren’t American cruise missiles or NATO hardware. These were small, fast, manually piloted FPV drones—the kind hobbyists use, modified for war.
And yet, in the early hours of June 1, they rose from launch points just kilometers from Russian airbases. From trucks. From wooden sheds. From right under Russia’s nose.
A 540-Day Setup
According to the head of Ukraine’s SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), planning for Spider’s Web began more than 18 months earlier. Ukrainian intelligence operatives, likely working with internal assets in Russia, spent that time smuggling drone components, fuel, batteries, and explosive payloads across borders, highways, and supply chains.
The drones weren’t launched from Ukraine. They were assembled inside Russia. Hidden. Stored. Waited.
The Shed Trick
The most ingenious element of the operation might be the disguise. The drones were packed into small wooden sheds mounted on ordinary transport trucks. These sheds looked like roadside kiosks or storage lockers. Once in position near each target, the roof of each shed could be remotely opened—and dozens of drones launched by operators watching the video feed from miles away.
Witnesses near Belaya airbase later described seeing drones rise up from what looked like a delivery truck parked by a gas station. A local Telegram channel even posted footage of one of the trucks burning after the strike—a secondary detonation, possibly from unused drones left aboard.
Launching from Inside the Wire
Launching so close to target had two key benefits: the drones could fly low and fast without risking early detection, and their range limitations became irrelevant. This made traditional air defense systems—designed to detect high-speed threats from afar—almost useless.
According to reports, the drones used a mix of GPS navigation, GSM signals from Russian mobile networks, and AI-assisted visual recognition to locate and steer toward their targets. In some cases, individual operators controlled them directly using FPV headsets and live feeds. Each drone had a human pilot, at least during the final approach.
Ukraine reportedly deployed 117 drones in total.
Hidden in Plain Sight
President Zelenskyy later revealed that the forward control station for one segment of the operation was located just blocks away from an FSB office—a deliberate act of concealment in plain view. He also stated that all Ukrainian personnel involved in the attack had already been evacuated from Russian territory before the first drone took off.
That matters. Russia claimed it arrested saboteurs. Ukraine claims any arrests are for show.
Either way, the message is clear: Ukrainian special forces and intelligence operatives can operate deep in Russian territory, undetected, long enough to stage a nationwide drone ambush against the world’s largest nuclear power.
A Fifth That Failed
Not everything worked. One of the five planned targets—Ukrainka airbase in Russia's Far East, in Amur Oblast—was never hit. A transport truck reportedly caught fire or exploded before the drones inside could be launched. Local officials claimed it was an electrical fault. It may have been nerves, or sabotage, or just bad luck. But these operations rarely go perfectly, and this one went exceptionally well compared to many.
The other four targets were hit almost simultaneously, across three time zones, in a single coordinated strike.
This was not a stunt. It was not symbolic. It was a test and it was a demonstration. It was a test of reach. A test of concealment. A test of Russian security—and it failed. A demonstration of Ukrainian capability and resolve, and it was successful.
The New Normal?
If Ukraine can do this once, it can do it again. Maybe it already is. Russia’s military and internal security services are scrambling to find out what else has slipped through their borders, what other decoy trucks sit parked near their bases, and what else is hiding in plain sight.
The bait has been set. And next time, Ukraine might not be launching drones at all.
→ Continue to Part III: The Bite
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