Marcel Plichta
Ever since Ukraine’s devastating drone attack on Russian strategic bombers, the Kremlin has been trying to figure out a fitting response.
Ukraine initially claimed 41 Russian aircraft were hit in the sneak June 1 attack on deep-lying airbases, though subsequent satellite imagery suggests fewer airframes may have been damaged or destroyed than initially thought.
Nevertheless, the blow is significant enough to Russia’s bomber fleet that President Vladimir Putin has to respond to save face. But while Russia has stepped up nightly drone and missile attacks at Ukrainian cities—framed as “revenge”—Putin has not been able to ease the sting of Russia’s lost aircraft.Russia has stepped up its nightly strikes on towns and cities across Eastern Ukraine since the sneak attack.Global Images Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine via Getty
“Operation Spider’s Web,” as the secret Ukrainian operation was dubbed, was a big enough deal to feature in a lengthy call between Putin and President Donald Trump, who blithely claimed that Putin “will have to respond” to the attacks.
Trump himself reportedly thought the Ukrainian operation—using drones assembled in Russia itself and hidden in trucks—was “bad-ss,” then later suggested Ukraine’s precision strike on military aircraft justified subsequent Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Trump’s view is firmly rooted in the idea that both sides are at fault, like a messy schoolyard brawl, even though Russia clearly started the conflict with its invasion of Ukraine.
Trump’s comments aside, Russia’s major problem is one of optics: Ukraine’s attack was focused solely on Russian military targets; Russia’s attacks, both before and after Spider’s Web, are more often than not aimed at civilian targets like apartment buildings. The difference in approach reflects a major feature of the war: that Ukraine is fighting off the Russian military, while Russia is fighting against the Ukrainian people.
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