Operation Spiderweb unleashed a swarm of Ukrainian drones, launched from trucks, that destroyed a third of Russia’s nuclear-capable long-distance bombers, parked on the runway thousands of kilometres from the front line.

The surprise attack on the Belaya Air Base in the Irkutsk Oblast deep inside Russia’s Far East, near the border with Mongolia, destroyed 34% of Russia’s long-distance bombers, which sat defenceless on the tarmac as operators in Kyiv guided explosive drones down on top of them, targeting their fuel tanks in the wings. (video)

The surprise attack that destroyed some 40 aircraft caught Russian forces completely off guard. The airfield is located some 4,300 km away from the front line and is out of reach of even Ukraine’s longest-range drones.

“An absolutely brilliant result. A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time. I thanked General Maliuk for this success of Ukraine. I instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to inform the public about the details and results of the operation that can be disclosed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a social media post.

Other airfields were also targeted, including the Olenya Air Base in the Murmansk Oblast, Belaya Air Base in the Irkutsk Oblast, Ivanovo Air Base in the Ivanovo Oblast and Dyagilevo Air Base in the Ryazan Oblast. The Kremlin said a total of “five terrorist attacks” had been carried out but said they had been repelled.

Ukraine sent a reported six trucks into Russia, of which four reached their target, carrying a load of attack drones housed in wooden crates that were launched on reaching their destination to devastating effect.

Zelenskiy said the attack was organised by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and had been 18 months in preparation.

“We spent over a year and a half preparing this operation. Our “office” in Russia was set up right next to a regional office of the Federal Security Service (FSB). 117 drones were used, striking 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers at their airbases,” Zelenskiy said in a post on social media.

The FPV drones were smuggled into Russia well ahead of the attack, hidden under the roofs of mobile wooden cabins in half a dozen trucks. Once the trucks had arrived in the vicinity of the military bases, the cabin roofs were opened remotely, releasing the dozens of remotely operated drones that zoned in on the nearby bases.

Two of the trucks didn’t make it to their destination. Video footage released on social media shows what appear to be Russian officers desperately trying to stop the drones launching from the truck, when they were remotely detonated destroying the truck. Zelenskiy said briefly that the Ukrainians that smuggled the drones into Russia had all been “withdrawn in time”. It is not clear if the drivers of the trucks were aware of what they were carrying.

Amongst the bomber hit were Tu-22M3 Long-Range Strike Bombers, Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers that can be equipped to carry nuclear missiles. Russia has a total of 47 Tu-95 bombers, of which just over a third have been destroyed, significantly degrading the Kremlin’s nuclear strike capabilities. The total value of the damage to Russia is estimated at over $2bn and the planes will take years to replace.

New tactics

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the operation as "an absolutely brilliant result" and said the Ukrainians' actions will "undoubtedly be in the history books".

Ukraine has been switching tactics recently. As US military aid begins to dwindle and the Western allies argue over how support for Ukraine should continue, Zelenskiy has been increasingly taking the fight into Russia. In recent weeks Ukraine has launched large-scale drone attacks on Russian targets that have also hit buildings in Moscow.

bne IntelliNews staff in the Russian capital report that civilian air traffic has been disrupted by the threat of drone attacks on airports throughout the country, but especially in the southern and European parts of Russia.

However, the truck-launched drone attack is a potential game-changer, as the mobile launch platform erases the front line and puts all of Russia’s territory within range of Ukrainian attacks.

On the same day, two bridges collapsed in Bryansk, crushing a passenger train passing underneath and killing a reported half a dozen people. The cause of the collapse of the bridges remains uncertain, with some reports claiming it was a coincidence, with the Russian Ministry of the Interior initially blaming it on an attack by Ukrainian partisans operating inside Russia.

Another bridge collapse happened in the Kursk region. The incident occurred at the 48th kilometre of the Trosna-Kalinovka motorway in the Zheleznogorsk district, as a freight locomotive was crossing the bridge. There were no fatalities. 

Bankova has yet to comment on the bridge collapse, but the SBU never comment on special operations carried out on Russian territory and no clarification is expected.

Istanbul talks

The strike came as a Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for the next round of ceasefire talks. Ukraine has already produced a detailed list of 22 demands; however, the Kremlin has yet to release the details of its list of demands due to discussion on June 1.