Incredible new footage of Ukraine's Op Spiderweb shows smuggled drone taking off from lorry & blitzing Putin's bombers
The incredible footage, part of Ukraine's covert 'Operation Spiderweb,' tracks the FPV drone from launch to impact in stunning detail.
It shows the drone lifting off from the top of what appears to be a transport vehicle — camouflaged as part of everyday infrastructure.
The FPV is then seen skimming across enemy territory and diving into a high-value target at Russia's Belaya airfield.
As the drone closes in, smoke is already seen rising from previous strikes - the aftermath of a calculated blitz that's left Russia's long-range air force in shambles.
The strike is part of a larger, high-stakes campaign that's left a trail of wreckage across four of Russia's strategic air bases.
It also delivered a staggering $7 billion blow to Vladimir Putin's long-range bomber fleet.
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Spectator
29 minutes ago
- Spectator
Why Putin wants Donetsk
Will Ukraine's fate depend on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka? These may not be household names, but they are the four key 'fortress cities' in the remaining portions of Donetsk region that Vladimir Putin is reportedly demanding as the price for peace. Although the details are still unclear, it seems that the framework for a peace deal agreed in outline between Putin and Trump would see the Russians agreeing to freeze the current front line. They could maybe even hand back some small sections of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions they have conquered in return for Kyiv surrendering the much larger portion of Donetsk region it still holds. This would be a bitter pill to swallow on so many levels. It is not just that the area in question – around 30 per cent of the region, over 6,000 square miles – is so much larger than the territory which would be liberated in Trump's vaunted 'swap'. It is also because of its strategic value. Within that region lies the so-called 'fortress belt', made up of the aforementioned well-defended cities and several other towns and settlements running north to south along the N-20 Kostyantynivka-Slovyansk highway. Given that Kyiv would inevitably and understandably fear some renewed Russian aggression, whatever the terms of any deal, it becomes all the more important for them to have those defensive lines on their side of the front line. Besides, this is territory now soaked in the blood of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and also of symbolic importance: Slovyansk is the city seized by Russian nationalist Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin when, in his own words, he 'pulled the trigger' on the risings that generated the undeclared war in the Donbas that in due course led to the 2022 invasion. In those circumstances there may even be some question as to whether the military would even accept orders to withdraw. Nonetheless, Putin does seem to have reshaped the debate. By making it about whether or not this surrender is acceptable, he has in effect made the West acknowledge that the existing occupied territories are lost. Perhaps some day, whether through military or political means, they may be regained, but there is no credible theory of victory that sees Kyiv regaining them in the foreseeable future that does not rest on some unlikely deus ex machina like a Russian economic collapse or Putin's imminent demise. Besides, Putin's line is presumably that ultimately this territory is lost to Kyiv anyway – whether it takes a month, a year, or longer, someday his forces will grind their bloody way through the fortress belt. A refusal to deal now just means more death and misery all round before the inevitable. Putin may be wrong and may prove willing to abandon this demand, but he will not do so easily or cheaply. Territorial conquest was never Putin's real objective, so much as the subjugation of Ukraine. Given that he never anticipated that he was getting himself into a major, expensive and open-ended war though, Putin may be willing to take a deal that he can still trumpet as a triumph at home. However, Ukraine may also feel it wins a victory of sorts if it is able to gain the kind of meaningful security guarantees and reconstruction assistance to become a truly sovereign, democratic and stable nation, outside Moscow's sphere of influence. This, after all, is where the really difficult negotiations are likely to remain. That chunk of Donetsk matters, but it is the environment in which Ukrainians will rebuild their country that will be crucial. Putin will want to leave them undefended and divided (indeed, a small part of the reason for his demand for Donetsk is precisely to force Zelensky either to doom his people to more war or take a monstrously unpopular decision in the name of peace). The question is how far Ukraine's allies are willing to offer those serious and credible guarantees and to force Putin to swallow them. They may be tempted to stick to their hollow mantras that 'Putin cannot be allowed to win'. Ukrainians, fighting at the front and hiding from Russian drones in air-raid shelters, have every right to choose to hold out and resist any such ugly deal. Given that Ukraine's European allies are clearly (and rightly) unwilling to put their own soldiers directly into harm's way, though, one could question the morality of their seeking to encourage Zelensky to stand firm simply to avoid confronting the grubby moral compromises peace would demand.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
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Two men who despise each other, one hour that will change the world: Trump and Zelensky to face-off again as Europe furiously briefs Ukrainian on how not to upset the US President
Sir Keir Starmer is heading to meet Donald Trump today as part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 's entourage of European leaders. The Prime Minister will join France 's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Finland 's Alexander Stubb in the White House. NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen are also travelling to Washington DC to join the talks with Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky. The US and Ukrainian presidents are set to hold an hour-long meeting before wider discussions between Mr Trump and European leaders. They are expected to use those talks to urge Mr Trump not to cede to Vladimir Putin 's demands for Ukraine to surrender the whole of the Donbas region to Russia. The European leaders are being dubbed Mr Zelensky's 'back-up' following the Ukrainian President's previous acrimonious visit to the White House. In an astonishing spat in February, US vice-president JD Vance accused Mr Zelensky of not being thankful enough for American support in the face of Russia 's invasion. The public row resulted in US aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted and sparked fresh panic across European capitals that Mr Trump was siding with the Kremlin. Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump have since attempted to repair relations, including with talks in the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral in April. But the US President infuriated Ukrainians by rolling out the red carpet for Mr Putin during their talks about a potential ceasefire in Alaska last week. Mr Trump also ratcheted up tensions ahead of Monday's talks by claiming Mr Zelensky 'can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to'. He also ruled out future NATO membership for Ukraine and said Crimea would not be returning from Russian annexation. In a post on his Truth Social website, the US President wrote: 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. 'No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' In a follow-up post, Mr Trump said it was a 'great honour' to host a slew of European leaders in Washington. 'Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!! President DJT,' he wrote. Britain, France and Germany are said to have taken the lead on preparing Ukraine's delegation for Monday's meeting - including advice on how not to upset Mr Trump. Sir Keir met with Mr Zelensky in Downing Street on Thursday ahead of Mr Trump's talks with Mr Putin in Alaska. The Prime Minister and Mr Macron, the French President, also co-chaired a virtual meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' on Sunday. Following the talks, Mr Macron said Ukraine's allies would 'present a united front' to Mr Trump during Monday's meeting in the White House. 'If we are weak with Russia today, we'll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and - make no mistake - they can impact us, too,' he added. Mr Zelensky is expected to face calls from Mr Trump to concede to full Russian control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two mineral-rich regions of Ukraine that are mostly occupied by Russia. In exchange for these demands, Mr Puting would reportedly withdraw his forces from other areas of Ukraine and accept a NATO-like guarantee that Ukraine would be protected from further incursion. European leaders have said it is up to Ukraine to decide how it wishes to end the war. Mr Trump has appeared to drop his calls for a ceasefire after his summit with Mr Putin in Alaska. The US President has instead said he wants to focus a long-term peace deal, although US secretary of state Marco Rubio has signalled a deal is 'still a long ways off'. There will be 'additional consequences' for Russia if it does not agree to a peace deal, Mr Rubio added, but he suggested fresh financial sanctions would be unlikely to force Mr Putin to the negotiating table. Ms von der Leyen suggested at a press conference on Sunday that both a ceasefire and a peace deal would have the same impact: to 'stop the killing'. Appearing alongside her, Ukraine's Mr Zelensky appeared to agree, though he also signalled his preference for a ceasefire. 'It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it's necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal,' he said. Government minister Stephen Kinnock this morning said Mr Zelensky must not be forced to accept a peace deal if he is not happy with its terms. He said Sir Keir had three objectives for when he meets Mr Trump at the White House alongside Mr Zelensky on Monday. He told Times Radio: 'The first of all is to make it absolutely clear that any decisions taken about Ukrainian territory must be taken with the agreement of the Ukrainian government and President Zelensky. 'The other is that the pathway for Ukraine to NATO and to security guarantees cannot be dictated to them by any other country. 'And the other is to send a very clear message that we the British people stand firmly shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ukrainian people as we showed when we opened our homes and our hearts to the Ukrainian refugees.'
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Ukraine's border in maps: the options explained
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