On June 1, a widespread drone attack on four Russian airbases sent at least 40 of the country's strategic warplanes up in flames.
The military operation was claimed by Ukraine's Security Service and came after more than three years of full-scale war following Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of the country in February 2022.
With one of the bases located in Siberia nearly 3,000 miles from the Ukrainian border, the drone attack caused more than $2 billion of damage to aircraft that Russia used to bomb civilian infrastructure and is seen as the most audacious since the start of the invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 117 drones, many of which were hidden inside trucks whose drivers did not know what they were transporting, struck over “34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers,” many of which are older Soviet models that are no longer being produced, in an operation the country's special forces dubbed “Spiderweb.”
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Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, and A-50: these were the aircraft hit
The type of military aircraft struck included two Tu-95MS strategic bombers and two Tu-22M3 supersonic variable sweep-wings. Developed in the 1960s, neither model has been manufactured since 1993; according to estimates from war analysts, the Russian Air Force had 57 Tu-22M3 that it was continuing to repair and use.
Other aircraft spotted in flames in videos of the attack include the A-50 warning plane. Approximately 40 such planes were produced between 1978 and 1992.
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The four air bases targeted include Belaya in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast, Olenya in Russia's Murmansk Oblast, Diaghilev in Russia's Ryazan Oblast, and Ivanovo in Russia's Ivanovo Oblast. Many other aircraft not immediately identified were also damaged in fires that spread across the entire airbase.
“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,” a source from the Ukrainian Special Service said in a statement. “At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”
BREAKING:
Ukraine launches the largest attack against the Russian Air Force of this war.
Drones smuggled into Russia have struck Russia’s strategic bombers at airfields deep in Russia.
Up to 40 planes destroyed, including several A-50 (AEW&C) & Tu-95 & Tu-22 long-range bombers pic.twitter.com/jcShGzXU8l— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 1, 2025
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Ukrainian security forces also said the operation took more than 18 months to plan and execute.
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All this came a day before Ukrainian and Russian delegations were set to meet in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks that so far have failed to reach a meaningful ceasefire due to Russia's unwillingness to pull out troops and stop trying to claim Ukrainian territory.
Past conditions articulated by the Russian side, which have been rejected by Ukraine given its unprovoked attack and history of breaking agreements, included limiting the size of Ukraine's army and recognizing certain Ukrainian regions in the east as Russian.
Face-to-face talks began at 13:00 local time with a two-hour delay from the planned start time. On June 2, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also met with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to discuss how to increase pressure and potentially new sections on Russia to exit Ukraine amid its aggression against Ukraine.
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