Svitlana Vlasova, Victoria Butenko, Tim Lister, Mitchell McCluskey and Helen Regan, CNN
Ukrainian forces have destroyed dozens of Russian warplanes parked at air bases thousands of miles from the front lines, according to a source in the country’s security services, in one of Kyiv’s most audacious and sophisticated counter assaults since the beginning of the war.
The operation, dubbed “Spiderweb,” saw drones hit targets across a large swathe of Russia, including in Belaya – which is closer to Japan than Ukraine – and at Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, according to the source.
More than 40 Russian aircraft were “burning en masse” at four air bases, the source said.
The SBU, Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency, said the strikes caused an estimated $7 billion in damages and hit 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers at its main air bases.
The drone attacks came on the eve of expected peace talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, which were already strained by uncertainty and pressure from US President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration was not given a heads-up about the operation, an administration official told CNN.
The strikes appear intended to send a message to Russia that Ukraine could still apply pressure more than three years since Russia’s unprovoked invasion. Kyiv has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not wanting to end the war as Moscow ramps up its attacks and offensive operations, including launching its largest drone assault on Ukraine since the war began overnight Saturday.
The operation, more than a year and a half in the making, involved drones being smuggled into Russian territory and hidden in wooden mobile houses atop trucks, according to the security source. The roofs were then remotely opened, and the drones deployed to launch their strikes.
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