Operation Spider's Web: Germany estimates that Ukraine damaged 10% of Russian strategic aircraft

Yahoo

07-06-2025

Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields on 1 June probably damaged about 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet, German Major General Christian Freuding has said.
Source: Freuding in a podcast, as reported by European Pravda, citing Reuters
Quote: "According to our assessment, more than a dozen aircraft were damaged, TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers as well as A-50 surveillance planes."
Details: According to the general, who coordinates Berlin's military assistance to Kyiv and works closely with the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, the A-50s, which have a similar function to NATO's AWACS aircraft in providing air surveillance, were probably not in working order.
"We believe that they can no longer be used for spare parts. This is a loss, as only a handful of these aircraft exist," he said.
"As for the long-range bomber fleet, 10% of it has been damaged in the attack according to our assessment," Freuding added.
The United States estimates that the daring Ukrainian drone attack hit up to 20 Russian warplanes, destroying about 10 of them, two US officials told Reuters. Experts say it will take Moscow years to replace the affected aircraft.
Despite the losses, Freuding sees no immediate reduction in Russian strikes on Ukraine, noting that Moscow still retains 90% of its strategic bombers, which can launch ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to dropping bombs.
"But there is, of course, an indirect effect as the remaining planes will need to fly more sorties, meaning they will be worn out faster, and, most importantly, there is a huge psychological impact," he said.
Freuding said that Russia felt secure in its vast territory, which also explains why the aircraft were not well protected.
"After this successful operation, this no longer holds true. Russia will need to ramp up the security measures," the general said.
Background:
On 1 June 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) carried out a special operation codenamed Pavutyna ("Spider's Web"), hitting Russian strategic jets at four airfields.
SSU head Vasyl Maliuk stated that 34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia's main airfields had been destroyed. The SSU said the estimated cost of the equipment destroyed as a result of Operation Spider's Web is over US$7 billion.
A senior NATO official called the operation the most successful one yet. The Alliance estimated that at least 40 aircraft were damaged. Between 10 and 13 aircraft were completely destroyed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that the security services used exclusively Ukrainian weapons in this operation and did not use equipment from allied warehouses.
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