Operation Spiderweb: How Ukraine’s Drones Devastated Russia’s Strategic Bombers
On June 1, 2025, Ukraine conducted a daring and unprecedented drone offensive—Operation Spiderweb—deep into Russian territory. Covertly staged by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) under President Zelenskyy and SBU head Vasyl Maliuk, this operation marked a strategic turning point in modern drone warfare.
Over 18 months in planning, Ukrainian-made Osa (Wasp) FPV drones—each carrying ~3.2–3.3 kg of payload—were smuggled into Russia within wooden cabin-like containers mounted on flatbed trucks. Concealed beneath remotely operated roofs, these containers were driven by unsuspecting Russian civilian drivers to staging areas across five airbases—including Olenya (Murmansk), Dyagilevo (Ryazan), Belaya (Irkutsk), Ivanovo-Severny, and Ukrainka (Amur)—spanning over 4,300 km and multiple time zones .
At the designated moment, roofs were lifted remotely, releasing swarms of FPV drones guided via ArduPilot software and tethered cellular networks, with AI-assisted target recognition trained using museum models of Russian strategic bombers .
The operation reportedly destroyed or damaged around 41 aircraft, including Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 bombers and A-50 AWACS, representing roughly 34% of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, with estimated losses of $7 billion .
Inspired by drug-cartel smuggling methods, Ukrainian planners even established a fake Russian logistics firm and leveraged solar-powered containers to endure Siberian temperatures—some shipments passed near the FSB headquarters in Chelyabinsk unnoticed .
Operation Spiderweb not only stunned the Kremlin—it showcased Ukraine’s ingenuity in asymmetric warfare, setting a new blueprint for low-cost, high-impact drone operations. This video unpacks the meticulous planning, technological innovation, and strategic implications of Operation Spiderweb—and explores what it signals for the future of global drone warfare.
Operation Spiderweb
Ukraine drone strike
Russian bomber fleet destroyed
SBU drone operation
Osa FPV drone
Drone warfare 2025
Covert drone smuggling
Asymmetric warfare Ukraine
ArduPilot drone attack
AI targeting drones
Drone strategy analysis
Ukraine Russia airbase strike
Strategic drone operation
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