For the first time since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in 2022, military air bases across five Russian territories, from Murmansk to Amur, have simultaneously become targets in a large-scale UAV attack by Ukraine.
The operation, nicknamed Spider web, marks a bold and surprising escalation, targeting the strategic backbone of the Russian air force - cruise missile bombs.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attacks took place on June 1 in Murmansk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, Irkutsk and Amur, in which Murmansk and Irkutsk recorded material damage. This is the first time Ukraine has attacked deep into Siberia and the Far East, thousands of kilometers from the front.
Although Moscow claimed to have cracked most of the UAVs and recorded no casualties, Ukrainian sources confirmed that about 40 aircraft, including the Tu-95, Tu-22M and an early warning aircraft A-50, were destroyed or damaged.
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Ukrainian media outlets revealed that the Spiderweb campaign has been planned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for more than 1.5 years, transporting UAVs and containers hidden in civilian trucks across the Russian border.
The moment the UAVs fell off trucks in Irkutsk - kicked or shot down by locals with sungles - spread rapidly on Telegram, shocking Russian public opinion.
SBU even posted a picture of its leader, Vasily Malyuk, who was giving instructions on the map of the five bases attacked. 117 UAVs are believed to have been used - the largest number in a single operation by Ukraine.
Investigation
Russia has announced that it has arrested a number of related subjects and traced them to a secret UAV warehouse in Chelyabinsk region. One of the trucks carrying UAVs exploded in Amur, killing the 62-year-old driver while trying to check the fire.
The cargo of the UAV caught fire before the powerful explosion, exposing a serious loophole in Russian inland control.
A take-over before peace negotiations?
The UAV operation took place hours before a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2.
Earlier, on the night of May 31, two railway bridges in Bryansk and Kursk were also collapsed, killing at least seven people and injuring 70.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the attacks "efforts to sabotage the peace process". Meanwhile, Ukraine has not commented officially, but public opinion is questioning whether the " spider web" campaign is a deterrent message or an act of blocking the path to reconciliation?
