This Word Means: Operation Spider’s Web

HOW WAS THIS OPERATION EXECUTED?

According to the Ukraine Secret Service (SBU), its agents moved dozens of short-range drones laden with explosives inside Russia, loading them onto trucks with their containers disguised as wooden sheds. The operation evoked comparison with the mythical Trojan Horse.

The operation was reportedly overseen by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk.

Zelensky in his video address on Sunday night said 117 drones had been used, and that the SBU had set up a nerve centre for the operation next to a regional office of the Russian FSB intelligence service.

“Our people operated across several Russian regions – in three different time zones. And the people who assisted us were withdrawn from Russian territory before the operation, they are now safe,” he said.

WHAT HAS UKRAINE CLAIMED?

1. 01

   DAMAGES

   An official who spoke to Reuters claimed that the attack destroyed 41 Russian warplanes situated in the country’s airbases, with strikes conducted in four airbases. The SBU also claimed that it destroyed Russian strategic bomber aircraft worth billions of dollars at different bases by deploying these drones remotely. These include A-50 surveillance planes, the supersonic Tu-160 and Tu-22 bombers, and the Tu-95s, which are capable of carrying nuclear bombs and cruise missiles.

   The SBU estimated the damage caused by the drone strikes to be worth $7 billion. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, it said, “Thirty-four per cent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit.”

2. 02

   LOCATIONS

   The SBU claimed that the attack struck Belaya air base in Irkutsk, over 2,500 miles (4,000km) from Ukraine. Other targets included the Olenya air base in Murmansk, Dyagilevo air base in Ryazan and Ivanovo Severny air base in Ivanovo.

WHY IS THIS ATTACK SIGNIFICANT?

Sunday’s attack marks a significant victory for Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia. Since 2022, Ukraine has found itself on the back foot, due to Russia’s military prowess. The use of these attack drones represents a streamlined approach to targeting Russia’s military infrastructure.

For one, the airbases themselves were previously believed to be impenetrable given their distance from Ukraine. Olenya, in the Murmansk region, is about 2,000 km away from Ukraine, while Belaya in the Irkutsk region is in south-eastern Siberia and over 4,000 km away from the frontlines.

The aircraft which were struck represent significant losses for the Russian side: the A-50s are early warning aircraft, while the bombers have been used to carry heavy missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Sunday confirmed attacks on airbases in five regions in the country, and claimed that “all attacks were repelled” on military airbases in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. The Amur airbase was not mentioned by the SBU.