1 day ago
Last Updated:June 02, 2025, 07:49 IST
Ukraine's most extensive drone attack damaged key Russian military airbases and infrastructure killing seven. The operation hit 41 warplanes and caused $7 billion in damage.
Damage in Russia (L)/Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (R) (Photos: Reuters)
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine sharply ramped up on the eve of peace talks between the two countries. According to reports, Sunday’s drone attack was one of the biggest by Ukraine, blowing up a Russian highway bridge over a passenger train and an attack on nuclear-capable bombers deep in Siberia.
At least seven people were killed, while 69 others were injured when the highway bridge was blown up over a passenger train heading to Moscow with 388 people on board.
Later, Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, acknowledged that it carried out the operation, codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’ and said it had caused considerable damage.
UKRAINIAN SPIES HID DRONES IN WOODEN SHEDS
According to a Ukrainian security official, the country’s secret services were able to attack strategic bomber aircraft at Russian air bases by hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds
The sheds were loaded onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases.
The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely-activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, news agency Reuters quoted the official as saying, adding that the strikes were conducted on four air bases, and that 41 Russian warplanes were hit.
The operation, according to the Ukrainian security official, was personally overseen by President Zelenskyy and Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU domestic intelligence agency.
If confirmed, the strikes would be the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war and would be a significant setback for Moscow.
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THE ESTIMATE DAMAGE
An SBU statement posted on Telegram messaging app estimated the damage caused by the assaults at $7 billion.
“Thirty-four per cent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit," the SBU said on the Telegram messaging app.
ZELENSLKYY HAILS OUTCOME
On Telegram, President Zelenskyy expressed delight at the ‘absolutely brilliant outcome’ of the operation, and called it “an outcome produced by Ukraine independently".
Zelenskyy also noted that the operation had taken more than a year and a half to prepare.
“This is our longest-range operation," he said.
Speaking shortly afterwards in his nightly video address, the President noted that 117 drones had been used to attack the Russian bases and that Russian forces suffered “very tangible losses, and justifiably so".
Zelenskyy said the SBU had set up a nerve centre for the operation right next to a regional office of Russia’s FSB intelligence service.
All operatives taking part had been brought out of Russia “on the eve of the operation", he said.
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Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
News world Drones Hidden In Remote-Controlled Sheds: How Ukraine's Spider's Web Damaged Russian Warplanes
