Ukraine claims it launched a cunning drone strike on Sunday against multiple Russian airbases, hitting over 40 military aircraft and inflicting an estimated $7 billion in damage, in an operation dubbed “Spiderweb.”

According to a post on X from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the operation, which took 18 months of planning, involved 117 drones, with operators in three different time zones directing kamikaze attacks against the Russian bomber fleet. The operators are all safely back in Ukraine, he claimed.

According to a Telegram post by Russian investigative outlet Baza, Ukrainian operatives hid explosive-laden drones inside trucks transporting prefabricated wooden cabins, which were driven into various regions of Russia by unwitting Russian drivers. In several cases, the drones reportedly launched after the trucks were parked near military facilities.

“The destruction of enemy bombers is a task set before us by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” said the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, in a statement.

“He personally supervised the special operation prepared by the security service. The adversary bombed our country almost every night from these aircraft, and today they have felt that retribution is inevitable. The SSU is doing and will do everything possible to protect Ukraine and stop Russian strikes.”

In a surprising twist, while the Ukrainians claim only four airbases were attacked, Russian state media is reporting five were hit.

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“Today, the Kiev regime staged a terror attack with the use of FPV [first-person view] drones on airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions. All terror attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur Regions were repelled,” the Russian Defence Ministry told TASS.

“No casualties were reported either among servicemen or civilians. Some of those involved in the terror attacks were detained. As a result of the launch of FPV drones from territories in the exact proximity to military airfields in the Murmansk and Irkutsk Regions, several aircraft caught fire. The fires were extinguished.”

Ukrainian officials say they targeted A-50 airborne radar aircraft, along with Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, which are capable of carrying cruise missiles.

“In accordance with the laws and customs of war, we have struck completely legitimate targets – military airfields and aircraft that are bombing our peaceful cities. So, on our part, this is a real demilitarization of Russia, because we are destroying military targets. Our strikes will continue for as long as Russia terrorizes Ukrainians with missiles and drones,” Maliuk wrote.

“In total, 34 percent of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main Russian airfields were hit. This was not just a devastating blow to Russian aviation, but a serious slap in the face to the power and terrorist nature of the Russian federation.” ®