IRIA News

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Ukraine launched a high-impact operation on June 1, 2025, that targeted key Russian air bases deep inside Russian territory, reportedly damaging or destroying more than 40 military aircraft, including strategic bombers used to launch long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian security officials confirmed the scale and scope of the operation, calling it a major milestone in Ukraine’s efforts to degrade Russia’s aerial strike capability. “Russian bombers are burning en masse,” the official stated.

Russian Defense Ministry reported that several military aircraft caught fire after attak on airfields in the Murmansk and Iskutsk regions. The Ministry added that the fire on all the aircraft have bee extinguished.

“In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, as a result of the launch of FPV drones from the territory located in the immediate vicinity of airfields, several units of aircraft caught fire. The fires have been extinguished,” the Russian Defense Ministry statement read.

Operation “Spider Web”

Sources within the Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) told media outlets that the operation was codenamed “Spider Web” and involved first-person-view (FPV) drones that were smuggled into Russia and concealed inside mobile wooden cabins mounted on trucks. These cabins acted as hidden drone launch platforms and were remotely activated at the designated moment, enabling the drones to take off undetected and attack their targets.

“The SBU first transported FPV drones to Russia, and later, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the drones were hidden under the roofs of mobile wooden cabins, already placed on trucks,” the source explained. “At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”

Video footage provided by the source showed large aircraft, including what appeared to be Tu-95 strategic bombers, engulfed in flames on tarmacs across various airfields. If verified, these images represent a rare and unprecedented penetration of Russian airspace and a dramatic evolution in the capabilities of Ukrainian drone warfare.

Multiple airbases targeted across Russia

The strike reportedly targeted four airbases across vast stretches of Russian territory:

• Belaya Air Base, located in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast, approximately 4,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory.
• Olenya Air Base, situated in Murmansk Oblast.
• Diaghilev Airbase, in Ryazan Oblast.
• Ivanovo Airbase, in Ivanovo Oblast.

According to the sources, the operation damaged a variety of strategic aircraft, including the A-50 airborne early warning and control planes, and the Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 bombers. “Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit,” the source said.

The A-50 aircraft is particularly valuable to Russia’s military operations, used to detect air defense systems and missiles while directing Russian fighter jets. Russia is believed to have fewer than ten operational A-50s, each valued at approximately $350 million.

Local officials confirm attacks

Although the Russian government has not fully acknowledged the full scope of the attack, regional officials have confirmed drone activity. The Russian Defense Ministry also reported attack damaged “several aircraft”.

Irkutsk Oblast Governor Igor Kobzev stated there had been “a drone attack on a military unit in the village of Sredny” and that the “source” of the drones was traced to a “truck”. Similarly, Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis confirmed that “enemy drones have attacked the territory of the Murmansk region” without disclosing further details.

Unverified social media videos appear to corroborate the account, showing drones being launched from trucks parked near airfields, consistent with the SBU’s claims.

Strategic and economic impact

While Ukraine lacks the vast missile stockpile Russia possesses, it has rapidly advanced in developing cost-effective drone warfare tactics. FPV drones, which can cost just a few hundred dollars each, were used in this operation to damage or destroy aircraft worth billions.

The aircraft targeted play a central role in Russia’s long-range strike strategy:

• The Tu-95, a Cold War-era strategic bomber, can carry up to 16 cruise missiles and is frequently used to launch attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
• The Tu-22 M3 is a supersonic bomber armed with the Kh-22 missile, which can only be intercepted by advanced systems such as the U.S.-made Patriot or the European SAMP-T.
• The Tu-160, Russia’s most modern bomber, can deliver up to 24 Kh-15 missiles and remains the largest operational bomber in the world.

The cost of a single Tu-160 is estimated at $300 million or more, while Ukraine’s FPV drones cost less than $1,000 each. If the Ukrainian claims are accurate, the attack may represent one of the most cost-effective military operations of the modern era.

High-level oversight and broader implications

According to the SBU sources, the operation was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and SBU Chief Vasyl Malyuk. The sources add that the operatives involved “have been in Ukraine for a long time” and dismissed potential Russian arrests of “saboteurs” as likely staged propaganda: “So, if the Putin regime demonstratively detains someone, it will be another staged performance for the domestic audience.”

The use of FPV drones to strike so deeply into Russian territory marks a new phase in the evolving field of drone warfare. Just months earlier, in March, Ukraine announced it had developed a new drone with a 3,000-kilometer range, though it provided no specifics about the model or its operational readiness.

This latest operation underscores that Ukraine’s drone development is not only progressing but is already being deployed in impactful ways on the battlefield.

Diplomatic repercussions and Russia’s silence

The strike coincided with news that Russia had proposed a fresh round of peace talks to be held in Istanbul on Monday. However, Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied its participation. The attack, whether intentionally timed or not, sends a clear message of defiance to Moscow amid any ongoing or proposed diplomatic overtures.

The Kremlin has yet to comment formally on the scale of the damage, which, if acknowledged, would represent a significant embarrassment for the Russian military establishment and raise serious questions about the security of strategic assets deep within its territory.

While independent verification of the Ukrainian claims is still pending, the mounting visual evidence and confirmations from regional Russian officials suggest a major blow has indeed been dealt to Russia’s aerial capabilities. If confirmed, this would mark a historic success in Ukraine’s drone warfare campaign, a fusion of innovation, intelligence, and audacity that could alter the strategic balance in the ongoing conflict.