The Voice News: KYIV – Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, has confirmed a major drone operation targeting Russian strategic air bases, marking one of the most far-reaching and damaging strikes of the war to date.
Dubbed “Operation Spider’s Web”, the mission saw drones concealed inside wooden sheds with removable metal roofs. These sheds were loaded onto trucks and driven near four Russian air bases, including the Belaya base in the Irkutsk region—over 4,300 kilometers from the front lines.
A Ukrainian security official, speaking anonymously, said that 41 Russian warplanes were hit and that 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers were disabled. The SBU estimates total damage at $7 billion.
Footage shared with Reuters and online showed Russian bombers, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic aircraft, engulfed in flames. Additional images showed dozens of quadcopter drones used in the assault, and modified sheds with exposed drone bays.
Russian authorities confirmed a drone attack near the Sredny settlement close to the Belaya base but did not detail the extent of the damage. The drones were reportedly launched from a truck.
If verified, this attack—personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and SBU head Vasyl Maliuk—would mark Ukraine’s most successful deep-strike drone assault on Russian territory since the war began.