Ukraine’s ‘Spiderweb’ operation damaged 40 Russian aircraft, destroying at least 10–13, senior NATO official says
Western intelligence indicates that Ukraine’s June 1 “Spiderweb” operation damaged 40 Russian aircraft, at least 10–13 of which were fully destroyed, a senior NATO official told journalists on Wednesday.
The official said that the destroyed aircraft were “responsible for over 3,000 cruise missiles that have hit critical infrastructure targets or civilian targets in Ukraine since the war began.” He added that the damaged planes included 15 Tu-95 bombers, 12 Tu-22M3 bombers, and one A-50 early warning aircraft, but did not specify which models were destroyed.
Immediately after the operation, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported that 41 aircraft were hit. On Wednesday, Zelensky said that half of them were damaged beyond repair.
Earlier estimates based on open-source photos and videos put the number of confirmed affected aircraft at 10–13.
“Spiderweb,” which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said took more than a year and a half to plan and execute, involved smuggling FPV drones into Russia and launching them remotely from cargo trucks parked along highways deep inside the country. According to Ukrainian media reports, at least four military airfields were successfully targeted: Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region, Olenya in Murmansk, Belaya in Irkutsk, and Ivanovo (Severny) in the Ivanovo region.
