Largest Destruction of Russian Air Units Since WWII: Ukraine Fights Back with Killer Drones

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has reported that the June 1 drone operation, codenamed "Spider Web," caused significant damage to Russian air bases, inflicting about $7 billion in losses. According to SBU data, this operation disabled 34% of Russia’s cruise missile bombers at key strategic airfields.

The attack focused on aircraft that have repeatedly been used to launch long-range strikes against Ukrainian cities. The SBU has stated that more details about the operation will be disclosed soon. In a statement quoting Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko, the agency underlined Ukraine’s resilience and determination to resist occupation, promising that they would continue to fight to reclaim occupied territories.

This will be in textbooks.
Ukraine secretly delivered FPV drones and wooden mobile cabins into Russia. The drones were hidden under the roofs of the cabins, which were later mounted on trucks.

At the signal, the roofs opened remotely. Dozens of drones launched directly from the… pic.twitter.com/sJyG3WyYYI

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) June 1, 2025

Ukrainian sources said the drone operation had been in the works for more than 18 months. The SBU managed to secretly transport first-person-view (FPV) drones deep into Russian territory, concealing them in mobile wooden cabins that were hidden inside trucks. When the operation commenced, these cabins’ roofs were remotely opened, allowing the drones to launch directly at their targets.

This extensive operation struck four major Russian air bases: Belaya in Irkutsk Oblast, Olenya in Murmansk Oblast, Diaghilev in Ryazan Oblast, and Ivanovo in Ivanovo Oblast. A source from the SBU confirmed that at least 40 aircraft were hit in these coordinated strikes. The list of damaged aircraft includes the A-50 early warning and control aircraft and the strategic Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 bombers. The Tu-95, a Soviet-era bomber first flown in 1952, was originally built to carry nuclear weapons and has been adapted to launch cruise missiles like the Kh-55, Kh-555, Kh-101, and Kh-102. Each aircraft can carry up to 16 of these missiles.

WOW. 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, worth around $7 billion, were struck in today’s massive drone attack, according to Ukraine’s Security Service.

President Zelensky: “Ukraine is defending itself, and rightly so – we are doing everything to make Russia feel… pic.twitter.com/dM6vOKrwOV

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 1, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lauded the operation, calling it “absolutely brilliant” and a significant blow to Russia’s air power. The SBU further emphasized their intent to drive Russian forces out by any means - by air, sea, ground, and even underground if needed.

This comes as Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Just days before, on May 26, Russia carried out its most extensive drone assault since the start of the full-scale invasion, using a reported 355 Shahed-type drones and decoys to bombard Ukrainian targets.

Russian authorities have confirmed that five military airfields were attacked by FPV drones during this Ukrainian operation. However, they accused the “Kyiv regime” of orchestrating these strikes without acknowledging the scale of the damage.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that Ukraine did not notify the United States in advance about this drone attack that struck dozens of Russian aircraft across these airfields. The SBU has vowed to release further details soon, continuing to highlight the Ukrainian commitment to reclaim occupied territories and counter Russian aggression in the air and beyond.

This marks the most extensive destruction of Russian Air Force units at their bases since the Second World War - a scale of loss not seen in decades. These operations are born out of necessity: Western missile supplies to Ukraine remain limited, while Russian forces relentlessly bombard Ukrainian cities. In the face of ongoing occupation and devastation, Ukrainians continue to resist - if not with conventional weapons, then with whatever they can muster. Today, that resistance takes the shape of precision drones, flown across thousands of kilometers to strike back.