Overview

• Operation ‘Spider’s Web’ deployed explosive-armed FPV drones concealed under prefab modules and launched from trucks near four Russian airbases.
• The strike leveled key fuel tanks and wing structures on Tu-95, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 bombers, inflicting an estimated $7 billion in damage.
• Ukraine’s 18-month intelligence and infiltration effort allowed drones to bypass layered Russian air defenses and hit targets deep inside Siberia and Murmansk.
• Destroying over a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet significantly weakens Moscow’s capacity for long-range conventional and nuclear-capable airstrikes.
• NATO officials warn the attack reveals critical gaps in Russia’s air defense and may trigger internal purges over security failures.