Cracking Russia’s shield: Inside Ukraine’s drone tactic that took out nuclear-bombers

Ukraine on Sunday launched one of the most audacious operations of the Russian war so far. Kyiv used first-person-view (FPV) drones to strike 41 Russian warplanes across four airbases, including some as far away as Siberia. The attack, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), inflicted what Kyiv claims is $7 billion in damages, targeting long-range bombers and surveillance aircraft that had been used to pummel Ukrainian towns.The assault, codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, marks Ukraine’s longest-range strike since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a “brilliant” operation that reached thousands of kilometres into Russian territory. According to the SBU, the attack damaged 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, including the Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers and one of the few remaining A-50 radar aircraft.The Kyiv Independent reported that the SBU’s operation involved smuggling swarms of FPV drones inside Russia, concealed in wooden compartments built into trucks. These trucks, fitted with remotely controlled roofs, were parked near the targeted airbases. Once triggered, the compartments opened and the drones launched directly from within Russian territory, bypassing Moscow’s layered air defences.As per Defence Update, the drones were stowed in modified cargo containers equipped with satellite uplinks and solar panels to maintain battery charge, allowing them to remain dormant until the strike was authorised. This approach reflects techniques similar to Israel’s covert “supply chain” operations in the Middle East. The entire effort took more than a year and a half to prepare.The drones were reportedly controlled via fibre optic cables rather than radio frequencies, according to Ground Report. This method made them virtually immune to Russian electronic jamming and gave Ukrainian operators the precision needed to hit targets without detection.CNN, citing SBU sources, reported that the drones were not launched from Ukrainian soil but rather from locations “in the immediate vicinity of the airbases,” confirming the deep infiltration involved. The airfields targeted included Belaya in eastern Siberia, Olenya in the Arctic, and Dyagilevo and Ivanovo, both east of Moscow.Though Russia’s ministry of defence acknowledged that several aircraft had caught fire, it claimed the blazes were contained and that there were no casualties. Nevertheless, pro-Russian military bloggers described the event as a “black day for aviation.” The Telegram channel Rybar, which is close to the Russian military, called it a “very heavy blow” and pointed to major intelligence failures.Igor Kobzev, governor of Russia’s Irkutsk region, said it was “the first attack of this sort in Siberia,” and urged residents not to panic. Russian officials later announced the arrest of several suspects, including a truck driver allegedly involved in the operation. Zelenskyy, however, claimed that Ukrainian personnel who helped prepare the strike had already been extracted safely from Russian territory.