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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘Closer to victory' – Operation Spiderweb gives much-needed morale boost to Ukrainians after 3 years of full-scale war
A large-scale drone attack carried out by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), which reportedly destroyed or damaged 41 Russian heavy bombers on June 1, brought a much-needed morale boost to Ukrainians. Codenamed "Spiderweb," the operation targeted the strategic aircraft that Russia uses for long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The damage dealt could potentially hinder Moscow's ability to carry out such mass strikes in the future. In Ukraine, the operation quickly drew comparisons to some of the most uplifting moments since 2022 – including the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet's flagship Moskva, the attack on the Crimean Bridge, and the surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast. The timing couldn't be more crucial, as Ukrainians have entered the fourth year of defending their country against Russia's full-scale invasion, while Moscow's attacks in the air and on the ground continue to intensify. 'I was shocked by this and could not believe that this could be done. It's some kind of fantastic operation,' Volodymyr, a Kyiv resident, told the Kyiv Independent. 'Any such operation brings us closer to victory.' The operation had been in preparation for one and a half years. It used low-cost FPV (first-person view) drones that were smuggled into Russia and hidden inside trucks to attack four airfields across the country, two of them located thousands of miles away from Ukraine. The success of the Ukrainian operation dealt a blow to the image of Russia's security services, demonstrating that Ukraine can carry out effective attacks inside Russian territory without having forces on the ground. 'It shows the power of modern drones. And it's interesting, to say the least,' said Ivan Boichenko, a prospective university student from Kyiv. 'I was very impressed. It was very uplifting, I would even say.' President Volodymyr Zelensky said 117 drones were used in Operation Spiderweb. According to estimates from the SBU, the drone strike disabled 34% of Russia's cruise missile bombers, causing approximately $7 billion in damage. 'We were very impressed and happy. We really hope (that the war is approaching) its end, and this will somehow help us to have a peaceful life like before. We miss those times very much,' said Alina, a pharmacist and a resident of Kryvyi Rih. Asked whether she fears a possible Russian attack in retaliation for the Ukrainian operation, she says her city is already a frequent target of Russian attacks. On April 4, Russia's missile strike killed 20 people there — including nine children. Halyna, a medical worker from Kyiv, shares similar thoughts about possible Russian retaliation. She says Russia already strikes regularly. 'Every day — there's no such day, not a minute, neither at night, nor during the day. Children are in basements, we are in corridors,' she says. 'I also suffered, there was an attack on us. God forbid anybody has to go through that,' she went on. 'But you see, I'm alive, many of us are. Though, of course, even more are not. May our defenders rest in peace. Thanks to them, we're still here.' Russian forces launch drone, glide bomb, and artillery attacks targeting civilian areas in Ukraine on a daily basis. On June 2 alone, Russian strikes across the country killed at least nine civilians and injured at least 49, including children, according to the regional authorities. Kyiv resident Volodymyr was among those who spent the night in a bomb shelter. 'When there was an air raid alarm, my family and I went to the shelter, because I was worried there would be some response, as usual, after such operations,' he told the Kyiv Independent. Among those who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, there was a quiet sense that Ukraine, through actions like this, is not backing down. 'The point is, it is better to strike back. It is better than just sitting there with your hands folded," said Boichenko. Many were also proud of the inventiveness of the operation. 'These moments should go down in history. There should be books, scientific works — the whole world should know about this,' said Halyna. 'This is happiness for us. They are destroying us, destroying us as people. And what did we do? We responded. We did the right thing. I'm glad,' she added. Read also: Operation Spiderweb — everything we know about Ukraine's 'audacious' attack on Russia's heavy bombers We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine's wily drone strikes expose Russia's vulnerability and could shift war's narrative
After too many nights of pulling children from the rubble of Russian drone strikes, the weekend's devastating attacks on Moscow's military pride mark a moment of brief respite for Ukrainian morale, and yet another twist of the unexpected in the Kremlin's war of choice. It may be hard to fathom the precise impact of Ukraine's wily drone assault on Russian air bases thousands of miles beyond the Ukrainian border. Kyiv said 41 long-range bomber jets were set aflame and that the attacks hit 34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers at its main bases. We don't know how many bombers Russia had that were fully functional – after years of taxing nightly missions over Ukraine – and how many others had been cannibalized for spare parts, but some reports suggest Russia only had about 20 of the propeller-driven Tu-95s and about 60 supersonic Tu-22M3s in service. It will become clear in the months ahead to what extent this really dents the terror the air raid sirens bring across Ukraine. But if what Kyiv says is true – 117 relatively cheap drones taking out dozens of planes and causing what one security source estimated to be $7 billion in damage – then the economics of the war have shifted. And it marks another point in which guile triumphs over the giant. Russia's main card is its vastness – of military resources, frontline manpower, tolerance for pain and financial reserves. But repeatedly, Kyiv has shown targeted pin pricks can burst these bubbles. In late 2022, the Ukrainians struck supply lines across occupied northern parts of Ukraine, causing a swift and embarrassing collapse of Russian positions. In 2023, they hit the Kerch Strait bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea. And last year they invaded Kursk, Russia proper, exposing the vulnerability of the Russian war machine's borders. On each occasion, the narrative of the war swung back in Ukraine's favor. But no time is it needed more than this week, after months in which the vital plank of US support has been in doubt, and as Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for a second round of peace talks in Turkey. It also brings to the forefront one of the key lessons of this war: the capacity for advances in technology, solid intelligence and bold execution to reverse military trajectories many observers felt were settled. Ukraine's first use of attack drones in 2023 has evolved to a widescale tactic, enabling it to survive the onslaught of overwhelming Russian infantry attacks across wide, imperiled frontlines. It has sent sea-drones to hit Russia's prized Black Sea Fleet. And most extraordinarily, this weekend, Ukraine says its air defenses repelled, with unparalleled success, a record Russian drone attack of 472 Shaheds. Ukraine shot down or used electronic warfare to block 382 of them, according to the air force, a feat that again suggests a technological advance, and the possibility that dwindling air defense interceptor supplies from the United States may not be the immediate horrific threat thought a month ago. But what of the wider impact of the bold drone attack inside Russia – one so deep, in Belaya, Irkutsk, that it was almost halfway across Siberia? What does it change in a war where Russia is slowly advancing, and showing little genuine interest in a ceasefire and the peace that might come with it? This is an unknowable, but not a zero. Losing these aircraft has a practical effect, and impacts upon Russian military pride and anxiety. Even airfields deep in Siberia are not safe. Russia's lumbering bulk of a military machine projects invulnerability and fearlessness towards the longest of wars as a tactic. It uses the idea of time being on its side as a key asset. But strikes like the weekend's show its hardware is vulnerable, limited and probably not easy to replace. Moscow may brush off this latest setback, its rigidly subservient state media able to sustain any narrative the Kremlin chooses. But that does not alter the reality of its troubles. It did not stop the short-lived Wagner rebellion of 2023, or the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk last year. The damage is twofold: to the internal narrative that Moscow can do this indefinitely – it clearly cannot, if surprises like these keep coming. And secondly, to its ability to visit the sort of bulk destruction it has relied upon to grind forwards in the war. The latter can slow its progress, but former is more dangerous. Tiny cracks can spread. For now, they are all Ukraine is able to inflict, but their longer-term impact, like so much in this war, is utterly unpredictable.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump should build millions of cheap drones, not Golden Dome
The future of war has arrived in Ukraine. That country's defenders are able to hold back a Russian advance, even though the Russians have a manpower advantage of as much as 5-to-1 along some parts of the front line, largely by using drones. By some estimates, unmanned aerial systems are now inflicting 70 percent of all casualties on both sides, reducing traditional weapons such as tanks and artillery almost to irrelevance. The war has also ushered in the use of ground-based and sea-based drones — indeed, using the latter, Ukraine managed to defeat Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine shows its latest 'ship-killer' Magura drone series to the public for the first time
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) on May 14 for the first time presented its latest versatile Magura naval drones to the public. The Magura drones, as well as the Sea Baby drones of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), have been pivotal in turning the tide of the war in the Black Sea, destroying or damaging multiple Russian ships and other assets. HUR's Group 13 has deployed Magura drones to successfully hit 17 naval and aerial Russian targets. Fifteen of them, including two Mi-8 helicopters, two Su-30 fighter jets, and the Sergey Kotov, Ivanovets, and Ceasar Kunikov warships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, have been destroyed, the agency said. Several variants of the Magura drones exist, including the "ship-killer" V5, the V7 capable of carrying machine guns or anti-air missiles, and the multi-platform V6P. As of 2024, Ukraine was reportedly able to destroy or disable one-third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in a drone and missile campaign, despite Moscow's significant advantage in sheer naval power. Black Sea hostilities have since then quieted down as Russia moved most of its naval assets from occupied Crimea further east and Ukraine managed to resume its maritime shipping. Read also: As Ukraine, Russia agree to ceasefire at sea, Moscow's battered Black Sea Fleet is set to get a reprieve We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Calgary Herald
14-05-2025
- Science
- Calgary Herald
Canada's boutique military: 'Should we not be able to defend ourselves?'
'On top of the turret of this thing is a rotating radar dish (that can detect incoming drones),' he said. 'It's a lot like a naval gun on a land vehicle, and they're very effective at shooting down drones.' The Ukrainians have modified their Neptune anti-ship missile — its original version sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022 — and fired it recently against Russian oil refineries. 'It has a range of 1,000 kilometres,' Hansen said. 'It is flying to co-ordinates that cannot be jammed. It has to be shot down. And good luck with that, because it flies at about 900 miles an hour.' Drone technology and weapons to counter them are something 'we can't afford not to learn,' Boivin said. The brigade now in Latvia has some weapons aimed at countering the threat from incoming drones by jamming their sensors or shooting them down, said the commander. 'We've got some that are still to be delivered in order to give us the capabilities to address threats from unmanned aerial systems.' Last summer, Canada awarded three 'Diamond in the rough' cash prizes to companies making equipment to detect and defeat such threats. Vancouver's AIM Defence took home the million-dollar first prize. Sherbrooke, Que.'s DARIT Technologies, and Toronto's Prandtl Dynamics tied for second place in the contest — dubbed a Sandbox event at Alberta's CFB Suffield — that featured 15 outfits from five countries demonstrating and testing their counter-drone technologies.
