'Operation Spider Web': How Ukraine targeted Russia's warplanes
What's the story
Ukrainian secret services have reportedly conducted a major drone strike on Russian airbases, with an unverified report of 41 warplanes being damaged. The operation, codenamed 'Spider's Web', was carried out on Sunday and is said to be Ukraine's most extensive drone attack yet, contingent on confirmation of the damage. The drones were cleverly concealed inside the roofs of wooden sheds and transported on trucks to the targeted airfields.
Targeted assault
Operation 'Spider's Web' targets 4 Russian airbases
The operation targeted four Russian airbases and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vasyl Maliuk, head of Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency SBU. Although the number of damaged aircraft is yet to be verified, if confirmed, this would be Ukraine's most devastating drone operation since the war began. One of the key targets was the Belaya airbase in Russia's Irkutsk region, which is over 4,300 km from the front lines.
Tactical innovation
Sheds remotely activated to release drones
The sheds were loaded onto trucks and driven to the perimeter of the airbases. A remotely activated mechanism lifted the roof panels, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack. The SBU estimated that $7 billion worth of damage was caused by these assaults, claiming "34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit."
Russian response
Russia confirms drone attacks, assesses damage
Russia has confirmed the drone attacks on military airfields in five regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said air defenses successfully repelled drones in regions other than Murmansk and Irkutsk, where FPV drones caused several aircraft to catch fire. No casualties were reported from these incidents, the ministry said. The operation came just a week after Russia's largest aerial bombardment of the war, which involved 367 missiles and drones, and killed at least 13 civilians in Ukraine.