Overview

• On June 1, Ukraine’s Security Service launched 117 smuggled drones as part of Operation Spiderweb to strike four airbases deep inside Russia, focusing on nuclear-capable and long-range bomber fleets.
• Satellite and drone imagery verified the destruction or severe damage of at least 13 aircraft at Belaya and Olenya airfields, while Ukrainian officials maintain that 41 bombers were hit, causing roughly $7 billion in losses.
• The covert operation relied on nearly 20-year-old ArduPilot open-source autopilot software and concealed launch sites hidden in mobile wooden structures transported by truck.
• Following the attack, Moscow has intensified perimeter patrols and reconfigured air defense deployments at bases in Crimea, Siberia and the Arctic to guard against further unmanned incursions.
• The strike has shaken confidence in Russia’s strategic depth, pressured peace negotiations by bolstering Ukraine’s leverage and underscored the evolving role of drones in modern warfare.