Ukrainian spies hid drones inside wooden sheds to target 41 Russian aircraft
Ukraine's secret services executed a complex and highly covert operation on Sunday, damaging 41 Russian warplanes at multiple airbases deep inside Russian territory.Using an inventive method to bypass distance limitations, Ukrainian operatives concealed explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds, which were then transported on trucks to the perimeters of targeted airfields. Once in place, the shed roofs were remotely activated to release swarms of quadrocopter drones that launched coordinated attacks on strategic bombers stationed at the sites.advertisementAccording to a Ukrainian security official, who spoke to Reuters, the operation - code-named 'Spider's Web' - targeted four Russian airbases and marked the deepest drone assault Ukraine has launched to date.
The official claimed the mission was personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vasyl Maliuk, head of Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency SBU. Though the number of damaged aircraft remains unverified, if confirmed, the strike would be the most devastating drone operation by Ukraine since the war began.Photographs and footage provided by the Ukrainian official to Reuters show the elaborate setup: dozens of short-range drones stockpiled in an industrial warehouse, and the wooden sheds with their metal roofing removed, revealing drones nestled between the beams. Separate unverified videos circulating on Russian social media also show similar wooden structures loaded on trucks, with roof panels discarded nearby and drones visibly lifting off from inside the mobile units.advertisementThe Belaya air base in Russia's Irkutsk region - over 4,300 km from the front lines - was among the key targets. The base houses Tu-22M supersonic bombers, used extensively in missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.Visuals shared online and by Ukrainian sources show strategic bombers, including what appear to be Tu-95 aircraft, ablaze on the tarmac. The Irkutsk strike is particularly notable, given the extraordinary distance from Ukrainian-held territory, suggesting the drones were pre-positioned close to the bases-well beyond the range of conventional Ukrainian drones or ballistic missiles.Russia has acknowledged the strikes. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed Ukraine had launched drone attacks against military airfields across five regions: Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur.According to the ministry, air defences successfully repelled the drones in all but the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, where the launch of FPV (First Person View) drones from nearby locations led to several aircraft catching fire. It also stated that the resulting blazes were extinguished, and no casualties were reported.Russian state-operated media outlet Tass reported that the driver of a truck believed to be involved in the drone attack will be questioned by police.The dramatic Ukrainian strike came just a week after Russia carried out its largest aerial bombardment of the war, firing 367 missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities. That attack killed at least 13 civilians, including three children, and left widespread destruction across Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and other cities, despite Ukrainian air defences shooting down the majority of the projectiles.Must Watch
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Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Op Spider's Web: Why Ukraine's attack prohibitively jacks up the costs for Russia
Over the last four years, Ukraine has generally been tight- lipped about its battlefront manoeuvres, but Operation Spider's Web is starkly different. Kyiv publicly disclosed a lot of information about the audacious operation that dealt the biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long range bomber fleet. Why? The answer to that question, according to Roman Sheremeta, Founding Rector, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the American University Kyiv, reveals how modern warfare now goes far beyond the battlefield. Firstly, the Russians would have figured it out anyway. The story would have come out anyway, given that more than 40 aircraft were destroyed across four Russian air bases. 'Satellite imagery, media leaks, and local reports would've told the story eventually. So why not own the narrative?' Sheremeta said in a post on X. Second: disclosure is the strategy here, given that this was not just a strike. It was a psychological ambush. Ukraine deliberately chose to reveal in explicit detail how it planned and then pulled off the operation — smuggling drones in decoy trucks, driving them 4,000 km through Russia, and remotely launching them under the enemy's nose. With this, now, every Russian cargo truck becomes a potential weapon. Every driver is a potential saboteur. And every highway — a threat vector. 'Result? Paranoia, friction, and skyrocketing internal costs'. The cost of the attack for Moscow goes far beyond the strategic bombers lost in the attack. Russia will now be forced to inspect every suspicious truck, monitor internal roads with military resources, distrust their own private truck drivers and slow down all logistics, civilian and military alike, Sheremeta said. This strains Russian creaking internal infrastructure, and could potentially choke supply chains and erode trust deep within Russian society. All this could potentially worsen the spiralling inflation in Russia, as supply chains get derailed. There are already reports of traffic jams in Irkutsk amid check posts being set up by the Russian law enforcement agencies and the military. With Ukraine's audacious drone attack, the war has suddenly reached deep inside the Russian mainland. The psychological scarring that it brings would take a long time to heal. 'Ukraine didn't just hit planes — it weaponized uncertainty. It turned Russia's vast territory into a battlefield of doubt. This is asymmetric warfare at its finest. You don't need to match your enemy plane-for-plane. You just need to make them afraid of their own shadow. That's how you win without even firing the next shot,' Sheremeta noted. The last place that the Russians would have looked was the lorries plying on its roads, including those deep in Siberia. This attack changes that. The drones hit some 35 per cent of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers, causing an estimated $7 billion worth of damage in total. Ukrainian officials said 117 drones were used, which would cost a few hundred millions. The asymmetry is stark! Despite the overall strength in numbers, which could eventually decide the final outcome of this war, Ukraine has shown that it can pack a punch and has the wherewithal to execute a complex operation that seems to have been taken out straight from a spy movie. Also, Russia might not be in a position to replace these strategic bombers, most of which are not in production. That badly impacts Moscow's resolve to deliver cruise missiles into Ukraine the way it has been doing for so long. It also makes a mockery of Russia's intelligence capabilities. Russia would have been prepared for night time attacks by missiles launched from Ukraine on their air bases near the front lines. What they were clearly not prepared for was a daytime attack in bases far away from the frontlines. That is why the drone attacks were so successful. 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Hans India
27 minutes ago
- Hans India
Ukraine Uses Concealed Drones to Hit Russian Airfields
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Business Standard
29 minutes ago
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US pushes countries for best offers by June 4 as tariff deadline looms
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