Latest news with #ArtemTymofieiev
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First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Are a former DJ and his wife behind Ukraine's daring drone attack on Russia?
Artem Tymofieiev, a former DJ born in Ukraine, has come under Russia's radar. He is suspected of having orchestrated Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web, under which Kyiv targeted four Russian air bases with explosive-laden drones. His tattoo artist wife, who moonlighted as an erotic writer, is believed to have helped him read more In this image taken from video released June 1, 2025, by a source in the Ukrainian Security Service shows a Ukrainian drone striking Russian planes deep in Russia's territory. Ukrainian Security Service source via AP Russia has launched a manhunt for the couple behind Ukraine's surprise drone attack on targets deep inside Russian territory. A former Ukrainian DJ is reportedly suspected of having orchestrated Ukraine's audacious 'Operation Spider's Web' with the help of his wife, a tattoo artist. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the Sunday drone strikes one for the 'history books'. The assault, which Kyiv claims caused damages estimated at $7 billion, has stunned Russia. All eyes are now on Moscow's response to Ukraine's drone attack. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As Russia looks for the perpetrators of the attack, here's what we know about the couple believed to be involved. Ex-DJ, wife likely behind Ukraine's drone attack A former Ukrainian DJ, identified as Artem Tymofieiev, is the Ukrainian secret agent who helped carry out Ukraine's Sunday drone strikes on four Russian air bases, as per a Daily Mail report. Ukraine has said its operation, dubbed Spider's Web, damaged or destroyed 41 Russian aircraft, including nuclear-capable Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic bombers. Russia has now begun a hunt for Tymofieiev for allegedly orchestrating Ukraine's drone attack, reported The 37-year-old was born in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr and lived in Kyiv, where he reportedly owned a clothing brand with his wife — Ekaterina 'Katya' Timofeeva. Tymofieiev shifted to the Russian city of Chelyabinsk 'several years ago', Russian sources told Daily Mail. There, he ran a haulage firm and his 34-year-old wife worked as a stylist and tattoo artist. She also moonlighted as an erotic writer and is believed to have aided her husband in Operation Spider's Web, as per Russian media outlets. The Ukrainian Secret Service smuggled 117 drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds, which were loaded onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the Russian air bases. 'At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers,' a Ukrainian military source told Associated Press (AP). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russia has reportedly alleged that Tymofieiev owned the truck company in Chelyabinsk. His business was a perfect cover as it is not rare for Russian lorry drivers to cover long distances. Tymofieiev's trucks were driven to Olenya airbase in Murmansk, Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, and Diaghilev and Ivanov bases — all thousands of kilometres away from Chelyabinsk. According to Daily Mail, 'Artem' hired four heavy goods drivers to transport what they thought were just 'wooden framed houses' to various locations across Russia. Two of the drivers reportedly told investigators that a man called Artem told them to transport 'frame houses', one went to the Murmansk region and another to Irkutsk. When the drivers were close to the four Russian air bases, they received calls from an unknown number –– using Russian SIM cards and Russian telecommunications networks. They were told where to stop the trucks, reported The hero of Ukraine 🇺🇦 Artyom (or Artem) Timofeev who executed the Operation Spider's Web (or Operation Spiderweb). — Humanist Uzbek 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@HumanistUzbek) June 2, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And then began Operation Spider's Web. Hundreds of explosive-laden drones simultaneously flew out of the trucks to hit Russian warplanes and destroyed 34 per cent of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers, Kyiv says. As per the Ukrainian president, it took more than a year and a half to prepare for the complex operation that pro-Russian bloggers have dubbed Russia's Pearl Harbor . Hunt on for the couple Russia is searching for the Ukrainian couple. 'Artem is now wanted in connection with a terrorist attack in the Irkutsk region,' Russian online news source Readovka reported. 'Four lorries were registered in his name, and one of them was the source of the drones that launched [in an attack on a Russian air base].' Reports say Ekaterina has not been online in two weeks and has since scrubbed her usually active social media accounts. Her husband was last seen at the couple's apartment in Chelyabinsk nearly a week ago. So, where is the couple now? It remains uncertain. However, if the Ukrainian Secret Service is to be believed, everyone behind Operation Spider's Web has been 'in Ukraine for a long time'. With inputs from agencies
News18
6 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Who Is Artem Tymofieiev, The Mastermind Behind Ukraine's Drone Strikes Deep Inside Russia?
Tymofieiev is believed to have helped Kyiv strike deep within Russian territory — targeting four strategic air bases across three time zones using swarms of kamikaze drones After Ukraine's massive drone strike on Russia shook the world, many are now asking how Kyiv — often seen as the underdog in its full-scale war with Moscow — managed to carry out one of the most daring attacks since the conflict began in 2022. A name now echoing through intelligence circles and Kremlin war rooms alike is Artem Tymofieiev. Once an unassuming 'entrepreneur" living in Chelyabinsk, Russia, he is now at the center of a nationwide manhunt, suspected of orchestrating one of the most audacious military operations of the war, according to a report in DailyMail. Nicknamed the 'mastermind" behind Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web, Tymofieiev is believed to have helped Kyiv strike deep within Russian territory — targeting four strategic air bases across three time zones using swarms of kamikaze drones. The operation, unprecedented in scope, reportedly destroyed a significant portion of Russia's long-range bomber fleet — aircraft that have haunted Ukrainian skies since the war began in 2022. Tymofieiev's Quiet Life With A Hidden Mission Tymofieiev's story reads like a Cold War thriller. According to Russian authorities, he was born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, and later lived in Kyiv. At some point in the last few years, he relocated to Chelyabinsk, more than 1,000 miles east of Moscow and just 85 miles from the Kazakh border. Officially, he ran a small business. Unofficially, he may have been Ukraine's man behind enemy lines — a sleeper agent embedded in plain sight, as per the DailyMail report. Operation Spider's Web In what sounds like a screenplay plot, drones were smuggled into Russia, hidden in flatbed trucks disguised as mobile wooden cabins. These trucks, driven by unwitting Russian drivers hired by Tymofieiev, transported the drones to air bases in Ryazan, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, and even as far as Murmansk in the Arctic Circle. On June 1 — coinciding with Russia's Military Transport Aviation Day — the trucks were parked near the base perimeters. Then, almost in unison, the truck roofs were remotely opened. The drones — controlled by Ukrainian pilots via Russia's own mobile network — soared toward their targets. Ukraine claims to have destroyed up to 41 aircraft, including rare TU-95 and TU-22 bombers and even a Beriev A-50 early warning plane. Satellite imagery and drone footage released by Ukraine support the scale of destruction. Tymofieiev is now on every Russian watchlist, with his name and photo circulated by Russian authorities. They claim he oversaw drone assembly in a rented Chelyabinsk warehouse, ironically located next to an FSB office. According to Russia's interior ministry, the lorries used in the attacks were registered under his name. Drivers testified that they were merely delivering 'wooden houses," unaware of the lethal cargo. However, Ukraine's security service, the SBU, asserts that Tymofieiev and his team are 'safely back in Ukraine." Location : Kyiv, Ukraine First Published:
Metro
6 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
How a former DJ orchestrated 'Pearl Harbour' drone strike on Putin's bombers
The man behind what is considered the 'worst day in the history of the Russian air force' is a former DJ who took part in the 2014 Euromaidan revolution. Artem Tymofieiev, 37, is the focus of a nationwide manhunt in Russia after more than 40 warplanes were blown up this weekend by unsuspecting lorries carting drones. He's believed to be the mastermind behind 'Operation Spider's Web', an audacious plot which saw Ukraine orchestrate drone launches within striking distance of major Russian bases. Tymofieiev, now believed to be back in Ukraine, first moved to the Russian city of Chelyabinsk years ago, where he took up work as an 'entrepreneur', which saw him operate several lorries for haulage. But before his move, he was a supporter of the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, which toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. He and his wife previously lived in Kyiv and owned a clothing brand while working as a DJ on the side. Reports show that he shared photos online from the Euromaidan protests and openly mocked Ukraine's Putin-loving ex-president Yanukovych. The Euromaidan protests began in November 2013 when the pro-Russian government attempted to reverse long-running efforts to integrate the country with Europe. In February 2014, it was swept away after months of huge and often violent demonstrations, culminating in a revolution and the installation of a pro-European government. It's unclear if Tymofieiev was working for Kyiv intelligence the entire time he lived in Russia, or if he was recruited after the war began while living abroad. One Russian blogger suggested he was a 'wolf in sheep's clothing', helping to orchestrate the large attack from within Russian borders, while going seemingly undetected. His wife also lived with him in Russia, working as a stylist and tattoo artist, even penning erotic novels. She's suspected of aiding her husband in the audacious plot. Here's how the unsuspecting couple living in Russia helped orchestrate the attack which crippled Putin's air forces. Operation Spider's Web targeted four air bases deep inside Russia – Belaya airfield in Irkutsk, Siberia; Olenya air base in Murmansk, near the Arctic Circle; Diaghilev air base in Ryazan; and a base near Ivanovo. But managing to get drones across Russian borders and up to 2,000 miles inland is no easy feat. Tymofieiev did run a haulage business and operated multiple lorries in his own name. It seems he used this business as a front to trick heavy goods drivers into driving the drones, which they believed were wooden-framed homes, to the various locations. Drivers Alexander and Andrei told local media they had been hired by a man named Artem, who provided the trucks, with each driver sent to separate locations near the four air bases. When the drivers neared the air bases, they said they were called by an unknown number who told them where to stop the trucks. It was then that the drones were launched. Photos and videos then showed how Operation Spider's Web went off without a hitch – the drones launched from within the trucks, striking the nearby air bases, crippling the Russian air force. Pro-Putin Telegram channels were flooded by reaction to the strikes, with some commentators calling them 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' and the 'blackest day in aviation'. More Trending The planes hit by Ukraine are expensive and vital parts of Russia's arsenal, with A-50 jets costing as much as £ 260 million each. Russia only has fewer than 10 of these planes in its possession. Operation Spider's Web appears to have been a success, with the whereabouts of Tymofieiev and his wife currently unknown. The attack took Russian forces by surprise, but Putin appears to have launched a revenge attack overnight. Cities across Ukraine were on fire today in savage new Russian strikes as the Kremlin dictator began exacting revenge for the destruction and damage to his nuclear-capable T-95MS and Tu-22M aircraft. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: The UK is 'sleepwalking into a bloody ambush and may not be around in 2034' MORE: I'm a liberal snowflake but I'd fight for Britain in a heartbeat MORE: Ukraine's 'Pearl Harbour' strike on Putin 'may have breached nuclear doctrine'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The man behind one of the most audacious military operations ever: RICHARD PENDLEBURY reveals the sensational inside story of Operation Spider's Web
In the annals of high espionage, derring-do and successful madcap military schemes, Artem Tymofieiev surely deserves his place. The Russians would certainly like to know his whereabouts today. A nationwide manhunt is underway. The mysterious Mr Tymofieiev has been identified as the Ukrainian secret agent who ran one of the most audacious and brilliantly executed military operations in modern history. Operation Chastise, the Dambusters Raid – in which RAF Lancasters breached two Ruhr dams with bouncing bombs in 1943 – has long been the yardstick against which other unlikely coups de main have been measured. I would argue that Operation Spider's Web, which the Ukrainian Secret Service – the SBU – executed on Sunday afternoon, exceeds even that exploit in breathtaking scope and impact. Simultaneously, across three time zones and thousands of miles from the Ukrainian border, swarms of FPV (first-person view) kamikaze drones struck four Russian air bases. These were home to the Kremlin's strategic long-range bombers. Yesterday Kyiv claimed that in a stroke it had destroyed 34 per cent of Russia 's heavy bomber fleet, inflicting some $7billion worth of damage. Mobile phone footage of palls of smoke rising from the bases during the attacks, video feed from the drones and satellite images of the aftermath: all seem to bear out the claim. The operation was an astonishing triumph. Russian military bloggers have likened the attack's surprise and devastation to that inflicted by the Japanese on the US Navy at Pearl Harbour. But how on earth did the Ukrainians manage to pull it off? As more information emerges from a triumphant Kyiv and a humiliated Moscow, we can start to piece together the Spider's Web story. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Russia's heavy bomber fleet has caused widespread death and destruction. Originally designed during the Cold War as strategic nuclear bombers, the aircraft have been repurposed to carry conventional 'stand-off' cruise missiles. These are launched from inside Russian airspace, well out of reach of Ukrainian air defence systems. All three of the heavy bomber variants in service have immense payloads. The TU-95 'Bear', a turboprop relic of the 1950s, can carry 16 air-launched cruise missiles. The TU-22 'Blinder', Russia's first supersonic bomber, has the capacity to launch the supersonic Kh-22 missile, which has the speed to evade most Ukrainian air defences. The TU-160 'Blackjack', Russia's most modern strategic bomber, can carry up to 24 Kh-15 cruise missiles on one mission. These planes have brought nightly terror to Ukrainian cities. Nothing could be done to stop them, it seemed. Due to the growing range and accuracy of the Ukrainian attack drone fleet, the bombers had been moved to bases deep inside Russia that weren't vulnerable to retaliation. Some were as far away as Siberia and the Arctic Circle. So, 18 months ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky summoned SBU chief Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk and told him to find a way to take the war to the heavy bombers' hideouts. How though to strike thousands of kilometres beyond the range of Ukraine's furthest- reaching missile or drone? Not to mention penetrating one of the world's most sophisticated air defence systems? Then someone had an idea that must have sounded crazy at first – like Barnes Wallis suggesting his bouncing bomb. Why not drive the kamikaze drones in trucks up to the perimeter of the air bases and launch them over the fence? To do this, the drones would need to be smuggled into Russia and hidden somewhere secure. When the time came to attack, the UAV swarms would have to be concealed on commercial vehicles that would not arouse suspicion. And that is aside from the issue of launching the drones at the targets in such a way that would not expose the operators or agents on the ground to immediate reprisal or capture. A base was needed inside the Russian Federation from which the Spider's Web logistics could be marshalled and the attack launched. That meant, of course, there would have to be a Ukrainian agent on the ground, far behind enemy lines, at enormous personal risk. The indications are that the location chosen for Spider's Web's Russian 'office' – as President Zelensky called it – was the small city of Chelyabinsk. It lies more than 1,000 miles east of Moscow but – and this might have been significant for the smuggling aspect of the operation – only 85 miles by road north of the border with neutral Kazakhstan. Russian mili-bloggers have identified a warehouse in Chelyabinsk as being the Spider's Web hub. Rented for 350,000 rubles (£3,250) a month, this was allegedly where the drones and their launchers were assembled and sent on their way. Zelensky also suggested that the 'office' was next door to the local headquarters of the FSB – the federal security service that replaced the KGB. He did not reveal the location. But who was to run this extremely complex and high stakes operation? The man whom the Russian Interior Ministry suspect of being the local mastermind is of course Artem Tymofieiev. His name and photograph are being circulated by the authorities, his capture a priority. According to Russian sources, Tymofieiev was born in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, lived in Kyiv and moved to Chelyabinsk 'several years ago', working as an 'entrepreneur'. Was he a sleeper agent from the start? If so, he made no secret of his support for Ukraine, friends are alleged to have said. But how could he be a threat in such a strategically insignificant place, thousands of miles from the war? He was, as one Russian blogger has put it, 'a wolf in sheep's clothing'. The drones were to be carried to the targets and launched remotely from wooden cabins carried on the flat beds of heavy lorries. According to President Zelensky they were then piloted remotely to their targets. Four air bases had been identified: Belaya airfield in Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, more than 4,000km from Ukraine; the Olenya air base in the Arctic Circle near Murmansk; the Diaghilev air base in Ryazan oblast; and a base near the city of Ivanovo. How to get the drones from the Kazakh border to these places? Chelyabinsk is 2,000 miles from Murmansk, 1,750 miles to Irkutsk and more than 1,000 miles to the other two bases. But such distances are routinely traversed by Russian lorry drivers. And that was the brilliantly simple method by which this high-tech attack was progressed. 'Artem' seems to have employed four unwitting heavy goods drivers to transport what they thought were simply wooden framed houses to different locations across the Russian Federation. According to the SBU, the drones were hidden under the house roofs. According to Russian sources, the trucks were all registered to 'Artem'. Driver Alexander Z, 55, from Chelyabinsk has reportedly told investigators he received an order to transport 'frame houses' to the Murmansk region from a businessman named Artem, who provided the truck. Driver Andrei M, 61, reportedly said he was told by Artem to transport wooden houses to Irkutsk. Driver Sergey, 46, had an identical story. He was told to transport modular houses to Ryazan. Another driver was sent to Ivanovo. So the scene was set for Spider's Web's spectacular denouement. The 48 hours leading up to Zero Hour saw Ukraine's intelligence services demonstrating its ability to launch ever deeper strikes into enemy territory – and Russia striking back with record ferocity. Last Friday, Ukraine struck targets in Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast. Seven thousand miles from the frontier, this was the furthest that Ukraine had hit inside Russia. The following night, at least seven people were killed and another 69 injured, after a train bound for Moscow was derailed by an explosion in Bryansk oblast, which borders Ukraine. Retaliation was not long coming. Within hours Russia launched its biggest drone blitz of the war – 472 UAVs in one night. The following morning, Sunday, June 1, a Russian missile struck a training ground in Dnipro oblast, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 60 more. This prompted the Commander of Land Forces Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi to tender his resignation. A blow for Ukraine. But as nothing to what it would strike in return. Sunday, June 1, approximately 1pm local time. It is Russia's Military Transport Aviation Day. While en route, Driver Alexander Z had been called on his mobile by an unknown person who told him exactly where to stop. This was the Rosneft petrol station next to the Olenya air base. Driver Andrei M had been briefed to park at the Teremok cafe in Usolye-Sibirskoye, beside the Belaya base. Almost as soon as the drivers stopped where instructed, the world seemed to explode around them. According to the SBU, the truck trailer roofs were 'remotely opened' and the drone swarms launched from within. They had only a few hundred metres to reach their targets. Surprise was complete and local defences helpless. As all four attacks were launched at the same time, it seems, no alert could be usefully circulated. Social media footage of the Belaya attack appears to show drones emerging from the rear trailer of Andrei M's articulated wagon. It is parked on the far side of a busy highway which runs alongside the air base perimeter. What looks like roofing panels are lying on the ground beside the truck, suggesting that they were blown off rather than hinged. Driver Sergey did not even get the chance to stop before the roof of his Scania truck's trailer blew off and more drones began flying out and towards the target base. Some 117 kamikaze drones were used in the attacks, according to President Zelensky, controlled by the same number of pilots. Each air base could have been hit by as many as 30 drones simultaneously. Sources suggest that the SBU used Russia's own mobile network to communicate with and guide the large 'quadcopter' drones. To do so they must have had Russian sim cards or modems. The targets were sitting ducks, the destruction immense. The Ukrainians released video from a drone flying over a line of Russian heavy bombers neatly parked at Belaya. One of the bombers is hit by another drone, which explodes as the camera drone approaches. Among the 41 aircraft claimed destroyed by the Ukrainians is a Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane, of which Russia has fewer than ten. The first satellite images of the aftermath at Belaya appear to show six TU-22 type bombers destroyed and a TU-95MS visibly damaged. 'We will strike them at sea, in the air and on the ground,' the SBU declared. 'If needed we'll get them from the underground too.' And what of the mysterious Mr Tymofieiev? All those behind the operation 'have been in Ukraine for a long time' now, the SBU claims. Spider's Web's triumph, it seems, is complete.
