Zelenskiy: Ukrainian attack on Russian airbases will ‘go down in history’

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) carried out an operation of unprecedented audacity on Sunday, something President Volodymyr Zelenskiy believes “will go down in history.” SSU agents infiltrated Russia, transporting 117 bomb-carrying drones hidden in commercial trucks. The containers transporting the devices were remotely opened on June 1, and the drones were activated remotely. Four Russian military airfields, thousands of miles apart, were hit by several waves of short-range devices that damaged or destroyed 41 aircraft, according to Kyiv.

Satellite images released after the attacks confirm that at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed in a matter of hours. Some of these aircraft are bombers designed for nuclear attacks, such as the Tu-95 and Tu-22. If it were true, as Zelenskiy claimed, that 41 of these aircraft were destroyed, it would mean that Russia was left without a third of its strategic aircraft for long-range strikes.

Even if only the 13 confirmed targets were destroyed, the success of the operation, dubbed “Spider’s Web,” would be equally incontestable. Not only because of the damage caused, but also because Ukraine has struck Russia for the first time in Siberia, at the Belaya base, almost 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from its borders.

“There are moments in military history that redefine how wars are interpreted,” the American defense think tank War on the Rocks wrote on social media Monday. The use of remotely controlled drones (FPV) in the war between Russia and Ukraine is one such moment, the group of experts points out. The culmination of this turning point in history is Operation Spider’s Web.

Kyiv has revealed that the operation was planned for a year and a half. At least six trucks transported more than 100 explosive FPV drones. Once in Russia, according to images provided by the SSU, the devices and a dozen containers designed for the mission were moved to at least one warehouse in the Chelyabinsk province, in central Russia and near the border with Kazakhstan. The final phase of the attack was allegedly prepared in this warehouse.

The trucks were driven by Russian drivers unaware of what they were transporting. They took the containers containing the drones to the vicinity of the four airfields inside the country. According to Zelenskiy, the SSU personnel involved in the mission inside Russia left enemy territory before the drones took off. The containers were designed with a system that automatically opened their doors.

Ukrainian state media reported on Sunday, citing SSU sources, that these drones traveled within Russia camouflaged under the roofs of prefabricated housing, without providing further details. The videos released indicate that the drone bombs took off from containers. At least four truck drivers, unbeknown to Ukrainian agents, were interrogated by Russian intelligence services, according to the Russian media outlet Baza. These drivers stated that they were transporting prefabricated housing and were completely unaware of the operation. Some of the drivers, according to Baza, saw drones begin to take off from the truck’s cargo bed during their journey.

Once the container doors were opened, as confirmed by witnesses near the trucks, the drones were activated to begin their flight toward their target. The FPVs acted in coordination using artificial intelligence, a technology already common on both sides in this war. The drones were programmed to reach the attack site and identify their specific target without the need for remote piloting. This would have required the presence of drone pilots in the airfield area.

Ukrainian and European defense experts have been able to confirm, based on images released by the SSU, that Soviet bombers owned by Ukraine, some of which are preserved in military museums, were used to program the FPV drones to identify targets. The drones were allegedly formatted to hit the part of the aircraft where the fuel tank is located, ensuring their complete destruction.

A video posted online shows a group of Russian civilians throwing stones to try to stop the drones taking off from inside one of three containers on a truck near the Belaya airfield. Columns of smoke can be seen rising from the base in the background.

Once all the drones had been launched, according to videos posted on social media by witnesses, the containers burst into flames without any external intervention, leading to the belief that they had a self-destruct mechanism. Both Zelenskiy and the SSU have stressed that they cannot provide many details about the preparations.

Maliuk, the hero

Lieutenant-General Vasil Maliuk, head of the SSU, has been hailed by Zelenskiy as the mastermind of Operation Spider’s Web. The president dedicated two of his daily addresses to the nation on Sunday to Maliuk, while Ukrainian social media has been filled with images of him, projecting him as one of the icons of the resistance against Russia.

Zelenskiy’s praise for Maliuk has also drawn attention due to the limited media presence in recent months of Kyrylo Budanov, until recently another of the president’s star generals. Budanov is head of the GUR, the intelligence service of the Ministry of Defense, the agency responsible, along with the SSU, for attacks and sabotage inside Russia. The Ukrainian press has been claiming since 2024 that Budanov has fallen out of favor with Zelenskiy for having become a celebrity who could overshadow the president politically.

Maliuk himself heaped praise on the head of state Monday: “The destruction of enemy bombers is a mission entrusted to us by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He personally oversaw the progress of the operation.”

Both Maliuk and Budanov have been responsible for other counterattacks against the invader. Long-range drone attacks by the SSU and the GUR against military bases and the Russian energy industry are common. In 2022, they staged the truck bomb sabotage of the Kerch Bridge, the infrastructure connecting Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, illegally annexed by the Kremlin in 2014. The Kerch Bridge was subsequently attacked with naval drones. Ukrainian SSU naval drones in the Black Sea have sunk a large part of the Russian fleet and even shot down Russian fighter jets with missiles this year.

But the political implications of Operation Spider’s Web go beyond internal Ukrainian issues. As in any self-respecting spy and war film, what happened could have geopolitical consequences. It is unknown to what extent Washington has been aware of the preparations. The digital media outlet Axios reported Sunday that the Pentagon followed the planning of the Ukrainian mission during its year and a half of development. During more than three years of war, U.S. intelligence has been instrumental in helping Ukraine identify military targets inside Russia and in the occupied territories.

Much of the preparations for Operation Spider’s Web coincided with Joe Biden’s presidency, and it is unknown how much the current White House administration and his successor, Donald Trump, were aware of what Kyiv was planning. Trump has been conciliatory toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading Axios and Ukrainian political commentators to assume on Monday that the current U.S. president was unaware that the attack was going to happen.

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