How Zelenskyy's spiders spit fire on Russia — a 360 view from Earth & sky

India Today

4 days ago

Just when people thought Putin was about to corner Zelenskyy into submission, Ukraine stunned the world with an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russia.Operation Spider's Web, Ukraine's Sunday assault on Russia, has been hailed worldwide as a grand espionage success story. So much so that it is being compared to Israel's strikes against Hezbollah leaders. It strategically targeted five vital air bases across Russia, from eastern Siberia to the western border. While details about this operation are still coming out, here is a 360-degree view of the attacks, which will give you an idea of how well-planned they were.advertisement1. Olenya, far-northwestern Russia Olenya Air Base, located 90 kilometres south of Russia's Arctic region, Murmansk, was the most important target. It is more than 3,000 km away from Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Several Russian long-range bombers and surveillance aircraft were destroyed at the air base. The Security Service of Ukraine reportedly launched First Person View drones from a hijacked truck to conduct the attack.
As per reports, Russia had recently relocated numerous aircraft from other airfields to this facility.Satellite images taken last week showed a build-up of Russia's aviation forces at the air base, including up to 40 Tu-22M3 and 11 TU-95MS long-range bombers.
Image: Russian bombers at the Olenya Air Base on May 26. (Source: Sentinel 2)
2. Belaya, southern Russia Despite being located 4,400 km from Kyiv, and deep inside Russian territory, the strategically important Belaya Air Base was attacked by Ukrainian drones, reportedly destroying aircraft.advertisementBelaya, a key military airfield in Russia's Irkutsk region, hosts the 444th and 200th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiments.Satellite images show several aircraft stationed at Belaya before the June 1 attack.Satellite images of the airbases' status a couple of days ago, - AviVectorBelaya (31.05):7 Tu-160;6 Tu-95MS;2 Il-78M;6 An-26;2 An-12;39 Tu-22M3;30 MiG-31.Olenya (26.05):11 Tu-95MS;5 An-12;40 Tu-22M3.At least 2 more airbases were also pic.twitter.com/zrefGmsfHe— MAKS 25 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) June 1, 2025The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed Ukrainian drone attacks in the area. And Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev confirmed that the drones that attacked the Belaya military base in Sredniy, Siberia, were launched from a truck. Local media outlets reported that the drone attacks had been launched from the immediate vicinity of the airfields.Today, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly launched 117 attack drones from trucks that had been placed near Russian air bases. I tasked several collects this morning via @umbraspace and my first images have already started processing. What a remarkable success in a well-executed pic.twitter.com/LzXulw8jnK— Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) June 2, 20253. Ivanovo, western RussiaIvanovo Air Base, located northeast of the Russian capital, is about 2,000 km away from Kyiv. It reportedly hosts the Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel VVS of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Il-76 regiment.advertisementAccording to reports, the target here was an A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft. The Russian defence ministry, however, claimed that the attack here was repelled.4. Dyagilevo, western RussiaDrones were launched at the Dyagilevo Airfield in the Ryazan region of Russia, which reportedly hosts Tu-22M3 and Tu-95MS strategic aircraft. Ryazan Region Governor Pavel Malkov called this a "terrorist attack" as it hit a residential building.5. Ukrainka, far-eastern RussiaThe attack on the Ukrainka air base in the Amur region reportedly did not go as Ukraine planned. Visuals show that the truck carrying the drones exploded en route. Videos show a man getting inside a truck before it explodes.One of the trucks with drones did not arrive in the Amur region. An identical container. A man enters it and immediately there is an explosion pic.twitter.com/ExAgVtrDKV— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) June 1, 2025Russia's state news agency RIA said the country's security service thwarted an attempted arson attack in the eastern region.Must Watch