Overview
Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked four major Russian airfields on the morning of June 1, 2025, claiming to have damaged $7 billion worth of Russian warplanes. The attacks were carried out deep inside Russia, with some locations as far as 4,000 km from the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, in Istanbul, talks between the delegations of both countries were scheduled for the day after the drone attacks. It’s like escalating the situation before peace talks — or, as one might say, boiling the water before adding ice.
Operation Spiderweb: Ukrainian UAVs in Trucks Strike Russian Airfields 4,000 km deep
The SBU (Ukraine's Security Service) has confirmed that it struck four major Russian military airfields using drones. The SBU also claimed that the destruction caused by the drone attack accounted for 34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers. The drone attack was carried out under Operation Spiderweb.
“Seven billion US dollars. This is the estimated cost of the enemy’s strategic aviation, which was hit today(Jun 1, 2025) as a result of a special operation by the SBU – ‘Spiderweb.’” the SBU said in a statement released by them on June 1.
As per Kyiv Post, atleast 41 bombers were damaged or destroyed during the operation.
The SSB posted a photo of it's chief Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk planning the Operation Spiderweb by standing beside a map.
The major airfields that were targeted were located in Belaya, Dyagilevo, Olenya, and Ivanovo. This was also the first time that Russia's Siberia region (Irkutsk) was hit.
Ukraine used FPV drones launched from trucks parked near the airbases. While the Russian air defense system managed to neutralize some of the drones, it ultimately failed due to the drones flying at low altitudes. The drone attack destroyed long-range Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, according to intelligence sources and regional officials. These were the same bombers Russia had used to strike various Ukrainian cities during their operations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the planning for the operation took a year and a half.
The Russian Defense Ministry noted that on Sunday, June 1, Kyiv committed a terrorist attack using FPV drones. The ministry emphasized that in three regions, the attacks were successfully repelled and that no civilian or military casualties were reported.