Ukraine strikes Russia in major drone attack

A photograph released by the Ukrainian Security Service channel on Telegram in June depicts Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service, examining a map of Russia’s strategic aviation location in an undisclosed site in Ukraine. Photo by the Ukrainian Security Service/EPA-EFE

On June 1, Ukrainian intelligence officials reported launching an offensive against roughly 40 bombers deep inside Russia, marking one of the most aggressive attacks on Russian soil since Moscow-led forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. The assault, dubbed “Spiderweb,” targeted “41 strategic Russian aircraft,” as per a source from the Security Service of Ukraine cited by NBC News.

The strike took place at the Belaya air base in Russia’s Irkutsk region in Siberia, nearly 3,000 miles away from Ukraine, according to footage shared by the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a statement, emphasized his commitment to safeguarding the independence, state, and people, noting he was being regularly briefed by security forces.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, symbolically referenced the operation with a spiderweb emoji. The “Spiderweb” maneuver, reportedly in the works for a year and a half, involved drones targeting Russian bombers by remotely opening the cabins’ roofs at a strategic moment, as detailed by the Independent.

While Ukraine had revealed a new drone with an extended range in March, it had not disclosed the operational timeline or confirmed if these drones were utilized in the recent offensive. In a separate incident near Ukraine, a passenger train derailment resulting from a bridge collapse and explosion in Russia’s Bryansk region led to at least seven fatalities and multiple injuries, as reported by Deutsche Welle. Another bridge collapse was reported in the Kursk region.

The Russian defense ministry claimed that Ukraine suffered 510 casualties and lost five armored personnel carriers, though it did not present any evidence in a Telegram post. Ukraine has not addressed the collapsed bridges, explosion, or the subsequent casualties.