How Ukraine's "Spiderweb" ensnared Russia
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Ukraine over the weekend unleashed more than 100 drones on Russian military sites thousands of miles away from the front lines — a clandestine operation some have compared to Japan's surprise assault on Pearl Harbor.
Why it matters: The coordinated attacks, code-named "Spiderweb," are a serious blow to Moscow's reputation and materiel. They also comprise one of the most audacious moves in recent warfare.
How Ukraine laid the groundwork
Behind the scenes: President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack involved "one year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution."
- Ukrainian intelligence operatives prepared inside Russia for months undetected, he added.
- The targets were five Russian bases thousands of miles from Ukraine and from one another. Unknown to the Russian forces manning those bases, Ukraine managed to position dozens of drones nearby, hidden inside trucks.
How Ukraine's attack unfolded
Breaking it down: Zelensky said the bombardment employed 117 drones and the same amount of pilots on the ground.
- Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said the drones were smuggled under cabin roofs. Those structures were loaded onto trucks, it said, and at the "right moment, the cabins' roofs were opened remotely, and the drones took off to strike their targets — the Russian bombers."
- Footage shared on social media shows a small drone zipping out of a semi-truck near the perimeter of a Russian base. Another widely shared image shows rows of drones inside what looks like a wooden crate.
- Once airborne, the relatively inexpensive drones sped toward Russia's far more sophisticated, but surprisingly vulnerable, bomber and surveillance fleets.
What Russia lost
- Forty-one aircraft were hit, the SBU said. Targets included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 warplanes. The service estimated the total damage at $7 billion.
- Moscow did not confirm those numbers, claiming many of the salvos were repelled. It did admit some aircraft caught fire.
- Western analysts have since pored over satellite imagery to confirm the degree of destruction. The Institute for the Study of War said Russia "will likely struggle to replace the aircraft that Ukrainian forces damaged and destroyed."
- Russia has very few A-50 surveillance aircraft still in use. Disabling strategic bombers also hampers the country's nuclear capabilities.
Between the lines: Russia will still have the capability of striking Ukrainian cities and battlefield positions, though the Ukrainian strike is a reminder of the high cost for Russia of continuing the war.
What happens next
Driving the news: Ukraine's stunning haymaker landed on the eve of peace talks with Russia on Monday in Turkey.
- There, Moscow presented Kyiv a "peace memo" containing largely unchanged ceasefire terms, an official told Axios.
What to watch: Russian President Vladimir Putin may feel the need to show strength and resolve after the attack, potentially by stepping up his attacks on Ukraine, analysts said.
- It's also unclear whether President Trump will applaud the ingenuity of the Ukrainian operation, or denounce it — as he has with recent Russian bombardments — for undermining his ceasefire push.
Go deeper: What the "rocket drone" Palianytsia means for Ukraine
