US EditionHow Ukraine's 'Spiderweb' Drone Attacks May Change Modern Warfare
- Ukraine's Security Service conducted a large drone attack named Operation Spider Web on four Russian air bases on June 1, 2025, deep inside Russian territory.
- The operation, prepared for over a year and a half, involved smuggling explosive drones hidden in wooden structures placed on trucks near the airfields.
- The strikes reportedly destroyed 41 Russian warplanes, including strategic bombers carrying cruise missiles, causing estimated damage worth about $7 billion.
- President Zelenskyy called the operation "absolutely brilliant" and confirmed a nerve center was set up next to Russia’s FSB office to coordinate it.
- The attack exposed Russian air base vulnerabilities, elevated Ukraine’s negotiating power ahead of peace talks, and signaled a shift in modern military tactics.
66 Articles
66 Articles
$300 Ukrainian drones vs. $100 million Russian bombers
On Sunday, Ukraine executed one of the most extraordinary asymmetric operations in modern military history. Using domestically built first-person-view (FPV) drones deployed from deep inside Russian territory, Kyiv launched a coordinated assault against several military airbases as far as eastern Siberia, the border with Mongolia, and the Arctic. Known as ‘Operation Spiderweb,’ the attacks destroyed or severely damaged as many as 20 strategic air…
The experts say that the destruction of Russian bombers using drones is a historic change in the way the war was made.
Zelenskyy’s drone card: How Operation Spiderweb impacts Russia’s capabilities going forward
Ukraine’s creative use of cheap drones has resulted in a major asymmetrical victory, one which has left Moscow reeling — and potentially changed the world’s calculus about how small unmanned systems can be used.
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
It took 18 months of planning and more than 100 carefully hidden attack drones smuggled to various clandestine staging sites deep inside Russian territory, waiting to be activated. And when the dust settled on Sunday, Ukraine's audacious operation "Spider's Web" left dozens of Russian bombers smoldering on their airstrips in an unprecedented surprise attack. While drones have increasingly played a role in 21st-century warfare, "Spider's Web" is …
The Ukrainians' major operation "Spider Web" caused serious damage to the Russian air force's ability to carry out long-range attacks. How big a humiliation was this for the Kremlin? What impact will the US's planned sanctions against Russia have? Why can't Western countries turn off Russia's oil taps? Economic expert and Russia expert Raivo Vare is in the studio.
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