Operation Web

The main thing about Ukraine’s large-scale attack on Russian airfields, the preparation of which took a year and a half

Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack on Russian strategic aviation airfields. The operation, dubbed “The Web,” according to a BBC source, was organized by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and caused, according to preliminary estimates, $2 billion in damage. RBC-Ukraine reports that as a result of the attack, which was personally led by the head of the service, Vasily Malyuk, more than 40 aircraft were hit, including the A-50 radar detection aircraft, as well as Tu-95 and Tu-22M3.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack on airfields in five regions of Russia and called it a “terrorist attack.” Read more about the strikes in the review by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

Where did the impacts occur?

Four Russian airfields came under attack, including those located in Siberia:

• “Olenya” (Murmansk region, 1,700 km from the border with Ukraine)

• “Belaya” (Irkutsk region, almost 4,500 km from Ukraine)

• "Ivanovo" (Ivanovo region)

• "Dyaghilevo" (Ryazan region)

The Ministry of Defense stated that all attacks were repelled at military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, as a result of the launch of FPV drones from areas located in close proximity to airfields, several pieces of aircraft caught fire, the department said. There were no casualties. It is reported that several participants in the explosions were detained.

Insider noted that, judging by the photo of the head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk with satellite images of military airfields, the Ukrainian army also planned to attack the Ukrainka base (Amur region). A truck with Ukrainian drones was driving through the Amur region, but did not reach the target - it exploded when a person entered there.

Video footage from drones provided to the BBC by a source shows the defeat of several Tu-22 MZ and Tu-95. They were attacked by small kamikaze drones with warheads.

Earlier, two bridges and two railways were blown up in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, as well as in the occupied Zaporozhye region. As a result of the collapse of a bridge near the village of Vygonichi, Bryansk region, seven people were killed . 47 people were hospitalized; three of them, including a child, are in serious condition. At the time of the incident, the Klimov-Moscow passenger train was passing there, with 388 people on board. Three days of mourning have been declared in the region - June 2, 3 and 4. The head of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said on air that the collapse of the bridge in the Bryansk region was due to an explosion. In the morning, the Investigative Committee claimed that bridges in the Bryansk and Kursk regions were blown up, and cases were opened under an article about a terrorist attack, but later the information about the explosion was deleted .

On the night of June 1, on the 48th kilometer of the Trosna-Kalinovka highway, Zheleznogorsk district, Kursk region, a bridge collapsed while a freight locomotive was moving. “Part of the train fell down onto the road, which was under the bridge. The diesel locomotive started to catch fire,” said Acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein.

Russian military blogger Yuri Kotenok complained that in Russia “terrorist attacks are now called “interference in the operation of transport,” and all, apparently, in order not to escalate or disturb public opinion.”

How did the attack on the airfields go?

According to sources of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine , preparations for the operation lasted more than a year and a half:

• FPV drones were sent to the territory of the Russian Federation in advance.

• Then mobile wooden houses, disguised as cabins and installed on trucks, were brought there.

• At a certain moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew off to hit Russian bombers.

The SBU estimated the damage to Russian strategic aviation from Operation Web at $7 billion. “34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia’s main airfields were hit,” the SBU said, promising to reveal the details of the operation later.

Consequences and confirmed losses

• According to RBC-Ukraine, 41 aircraft were hit as a result of the strikes, including the Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS and the A-50 early warning aircraft.

• Residents of Olenegorsk in the Murmansk region reported the sounds of explosions and fire.

* In the Irkutsk region, strikes occurred in a unit in the village of Sredniy. A drone was also dropped on an old building in Novomaltinsk - this is the first attack on Siberia during the entire war, Governor Igor Kobzev emphasized.

• In Ryazan, a fragment of a downed drone damaged the roof of a residential building, said Governor Pavel Malkov.

• According to Baza, one of the trucks transporting kamikaze drones did not reach its destination in the Amur region, exploded and burned on May 31. “The exploded container is very similar to those that the SBU used for the attack in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions. Also, judging by photos from the Ukrainian media, a military airfield in the Amur region was among the targets of the SBU,” notes the telegram channel.

Israeli military expert David Gendelman, in a commentary to New Europe, recalled that in September 2022, ex-commander-in-chief and now ambassador to Britain Valery Zaluzhny said that “Russia wages the war the way it does because of impunity, because there is no parity in the range of weapons.”

“Building this parity became a strategic task, and since then Ukraine has greatly developed long-range UAVs, but you cannot reach all objects in Russia, and air defense also interferes, so other methods are needed. The “where you can’t fly, you can get there” method was used with the explosion of a truck on the Crimean Bridge in 2022, and today in a simultaneous raid on the long-range aviation airfields of Belaya, Olenya, Dyagilevo and Ivanovo: an attack on aircraft on the ground by FPV drones launched from a truck near the airfield. A strike near the Mongolian border is an achievement in itself, and when combined with other strikes, it is generally excellent planning, coordination and execution. The losses of the Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategists are irreplaceable, they are no longer produced,” he explained.

The fate of the truck drivers from which the drones were launched

“Baza” writes that in Olenegorsk, Murmansk region, the driver of one such truck could have been used “in the dark”; he might not have known about the dangerous cargo.

Sources in the SBU, as reported by the Ukrainian “Politics of the Country”, state that the people who participated in the special operation on the territory of the Russian Federation are already in Ukraine.

Reaction of Z-bloggers and comparison with Pearl Harbor

• The Russian military telegram channel “Fighterbomber” writes that drones were used from the shortest distance, “therefore it was impossible to remove aircraft from the attack, as well as to use Pantsirs, S-300s, and so on against them.”

“Today will later be called the black day of Russian long-range aviation. And the day is not over yet. The personnel of the air bases were raised to arms, but I can’t really imagine what they can do now with such drones. Just count,” commented the author of the channel.

• The Rybar telegram channel recalls that in the summer of 2023, the Ukrainian army attacked the Soltsy airfield in the Novgorod region.

“Then this was accomplished by dropping ammunition from quadcopters, even without the use of satellite communications. As a result, the Tu-22M3 bomber burned down, and the loss was even officially recognized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. […] Two years have passed. If for operational-tactical aviation a shelter was erected somewhere, then for strategic aircraft it was not. Although they have been discontinued for a long time, and losses cannot be compensated,” he writes.

• The telegram channel “ZHIVOV Z” is interested in “will everyone who was responsible for the safety of the Russian strategic aviation be punished?”

* The “Two Majors” channel wrote : “This is not just an excuse. This is the reason to launch nuclear strikes on Ukraine.”

• “Revenge of Goodwill” : “Well, we can’t have such stupid cops who look with their moronic eyes at drones flying out of a truck parked on the side of the road and stupidly hold up their striped stick, which he would like to insert into one place.”

• “Voenkor Kitten” : “So, Russia’s nuclear triad has been seriously attacked. Of course, this is not nuclear armageddon, but it is not pleasant. In addition to attacks on strategic aviation, it is possible that a strategic missile submarine can be hit. The enemy is going all-in.”

• Alexander Kots: “Actually, it was a matter of time when FPV drones would start operating in our deep rear areas. Let's start. […] A dark day for our strategic aviation. But the war did not end. We must take off the cloak of the last knight on the planet and hit him hard, regardless of the consequences.”

Some pro-war telegram channels compared the attack to Pearl Harbor:

• Kursk blogger Roman Alekhine : “This is the Russian Pearl Harbor.” We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on its Pearl Harbor, or even tougher.”

Attack on the eve of negotiations

The attack came less than 24 hours before a scheduled round of peace talks is scheduled to take place on June 2 in Istanbul. The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said .

“The first is a complete and unconditional ceasefire. The second is the release of prisoners. The third is the return of abducted children. And in order to establish a reliable and lasting peace and guarantee security, preparations for the meeting are at the highest level. Only leaders can resolve key issues,” the head of Ukraine emphasized.

Kiev demanded that Moscow first hand over a draft ceasefire memorandum. Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation, proposed exchanging memorandums at the meeting. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the delegation will arrive in Istanbul with a draft memorandum and other proposals for a ceasefire.

Reuters published the full text of the document that Ukraine will deliver to Istanbul tomorrow. Among the proposals for a peaceful settlement:

• A complete and unconditional ceasefire in the sky, on land and at sea.

• Confidence-building measures - addressing humanitarian issues: unconditional return of all deportees and illegally displaced persons. Exchange of prisoners in the “all for all” format.

• Non-repetition of aggression: The purpose of the negotiations is to restore a permanent basis for lasting peace and security and ensure that aggression is not repeated.

• Security guarantees and involvement of the international community.

• Sovereignty: Ukraine is not forced to neutrality. It can become part of the Euro-Atlantic community and strive for EU membership. Ukraine's membership in NATO depends on consensus within the Alliance.

• Territorial issues: The territorial gains made by Russia since February 2014 are not recognized by the international community. The line of contact is the starting point for negotiations. Territorial issues are discussed only after a complete and unconditional ceasefire.

• Sanctions: Some sanctions may be lifted on Russia, but gradually, with a mechanism for reinstating sanctions if necessary. Frozen Russian sovereign assets are used for reconstruction or remain frozen until reparations are paid.

The next step, as indicated in the text, is agreeing on a ceasefire and preparing and agreeing on a meeting of the leaders.

Negotiations will take place with the participation of the United States and Europe.

Updated: June 1 20:27 Moscow time