2 days ago
Amazing new footage from Ukraine's daring Operation Spiderweb shows drone's whole flight across flaming Russian airbase before it smashes into one of Putin's nuclear bombers
The Ukrainian military has released new footage of its devastating drone attack that left dozens of Vladimir Putin 's irreplaceable nuclear bombers up in flames.
Ukraine's most daring attack of the war to date, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, saw more than 100 first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones smuggled into Russia in wooden containers disguised as modular homes.
They were loaded onto civilian trucks and driven behind enemy lines by Russian lorry drivers seemingly unaware of what they were carrying.
The vehicles were parked within range of five airfields stretching from northern Russia down to Siberia, at which point the hidden roofs of the wooden cabins were opened remotely and the FPV drones took to the skies.
What happened next served as a devastating blow to Putin's forces, as 41 of his prized aircraft - worth some £1.5billion - were decimated in just a matter of minutes.
Footage shared by the Ukrainian military earlier today shows the exact moment one kamikaze drone dramatically burst out of its wooden crate and sped across the Russian countryside towards an airbase.
As it reaches it target, huge plumes of smoke can be seen rising from several nuclear bombers already alight, with one jet engulfed by a devastating fireball.
Amid the destruction, the drone spots one jet still in tact, a TU-22 nuclear bomber, and immediately races towards it before inevitably self destructing.
The devastating strikes took place on Sunday, with dramatic videos posted by pro-Kremlin military bloggers showing flames engulfing aircraft at multiple locations, including one deep inside Siberia.
At least four more Russian strategic airbases were struck: Olenya in the Arctic region of Murmansk; Dyagilevo in western Russia; Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow; and Podmoskovye in Moscow.
Sources inside Ukraine's SBU security service claimed the operation crippled 34 per cent of Russia's long-range strategic bombers often used to launch cruise missiles into Ukraine.
In a statement, the SBU said at least 41 long-range bombers had been damaged or destroyed.
These, they say, include the nuclear capable Tu-95 and Tu-22M as well as the surveillance A-50 'Mainstay' plane, worth an estimated £250,000,000 that is used as a radar and command centre, of which Russia is only believed to have around ten in operation.
'Mainstays' are critical to coordinating Russian fighter jets and air defences, meaning that this will have severely hampered Putin's war effort.
Moscow has long stopped producing any of these aircraft meaning, if confirmed, these assets could not be replaced. There are only around 120 Tu-95s and Tu-22Ms in operation and they are vital for Putin's nightly bombing raids on Ukraine.
They had been moved to bases thousands of miles away from Ukraine, out of reach of Western-donated Storm Shadows and ATACMS which have a range of up to 185 miles.
As it reaches it target, huge plumes of smoke can be seen rising from several nuclear bombers already, with one jet engulfed by a devastating fireball
In images released by the Ukrainian secret services, the wooden containers are seen packed with 117 FPV kamikaze drones – which allow pilots to control them remotely through a live feed.
Dozens of black drones are lined side-by-side in the mobile wooden cabins. The roofs had hidden compartments into which the small flying weapons were stashed.
With the help of front-positioned cameras, the missile-loaded drones headed straight for Russia's highly expensive bomber planes.
Amid the drone blasts, one Russian man recalled to Mash Telegram channel throwing stones into the backs of the trucks in an attempt to stop the drones from taking off.
Footage captured the moment dozens of other Russian locals launched rocks towards the trucks with some climbing on top of the vehicles to get a better shot.
A video surfaced showing one of the trucks used to launch the Ukrainian (FPV) drones against Russian airbases, moments before it self-destructed.
The footage captures a Russian man entering the cargo truck, unaware of the built-in self-destruction mechanism, which ignites seconds later, resulting in a massive explosion.
The truck's self-destruct system activates to ensure that no evidence or technology can be recovered by Russian forces. This method prevents reverse engineering and eliminates any traceable Ukrainian assets left behind.
The trucks are all linked to a mysterious man named Artem, 37, believed to be Ukrainian, and had reportedly been loaded in Chelyabinsk.
All drivers reported receiving cryptic phone calls with instructions on exactly where to stop just hours before the drone launches.
The trucks involved were seen in clips shared on social media with smoke billowing from the roofs as slabs of the wooden crates lay on the side of the road.
In drone footage, several Russian planes were seen erupting in a blaze as they soared over the Russian aircrafts.
As they continued their journey, the drones blasted the planes stationed ahead, sending them into a ball of fire.
Separate images revealed the destruction as plumes of black clouds billowed into the sky behind buildings as the attack was carried out.
Footage appeared to show black smoke at the scene on the Kola Peninsula following explosions at the secret base.
According to Baza, Russian officials have launched a terrorism investigation and are now hunting Artem, who is believed to have fled.
Putin has stayed out of sight since the attacks but an insider has warned: 'He will hit back at Ukraine, but also avenge his underlings who allowed this humiliation to happen'.
Meanwhile, the SBU says all Ukrainian personnel involved in preparing and guiding the mission are already safely back in Ukraine, dismissing Moscow's response as a 'another staged performance for the domestic audience'.
In a statement, President Zelensky hailed the 'perfectly prepared' operation, which he claimed was run out of a building located near an office of the Federal Security Service, Russia's principle security service.
The sleeping FSB security service - headed by close ally Alexander Bortnikov, 73 - now faces blame over Ukraine using a warehouse next door to an intelligence HQ in Chelyabinsk to prepare the drone strikes on his airbases.
Operation Spiderweb was 18 months in the making and under the control of Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Ukrainian security service, the SBU.
Zelensky also noted its symbolic timing as the operation came exactly 29 years after Ukraine handed over its own strategic bombers to Russia as part of the ill-fated Budapest Memorandum, under which Moscow promised never to attack its neighbour.
'We can say with confidence that this is an absolutely unique operation,' he said in statement on social media, revealing that 117 drones were used to target bombers 'used to fire at our cities.'
'What's most interesting, is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions,' he added.
'In total, 117 drones were used in the operation, with a corresponding number of drone operators involved, and 34 per cent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit. We will continue this work.'
He assessed that the attack on Putin's irreplaceable bombers 'will undoubtedly be in [the] history books'.
Military blogger Roman Alekhin said the incident will go down as 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' - a reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.
Pro-Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomb, believed to be run by Capt. Ilya Tumanov of the Russian Army, acknowledged that Sunday would 'later be called a black day for Russian long-range aviation,' adding: 'And the day is not over yet.'
Former RAF pilot and military analyst Mikey Kay told the BBC: 'The Russians would never have expected something like this. I mean, it's genius, if you think about just the devastating effect that it's had on strategic assets of Putin.'
Philip O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University, said the raid was 'the most remarkable and successful operation of the war.'
