Within the afternoon of June 1, Ukrainian forces launched a profitable giant scale accomplished strike on three main Russian Aerospace Forces amenities together with Olenya within the Murmansk area, Dyagilevo within the Ryazan area, and the Belaya airbase within the Irkutsk area, Siberia. The flexibility to have interaction targets unprecedentedly deep inside Russia was achieved by launching plane from vans deep inside Russian territory. The operation, codenamed “Spider Net,” was reported by Ukrainian sources to have been deliberate for a year-and-a-half, and in line with Western and Ukrainian sources has broken and destroyed greater than 40 navy plane. Among the many Most worthy plane destroyed are Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, that are each lessons of plane which have ceased manufacturing for greater than twenty years and are irreplaceable. At the least 4 Tu-95MS bombers are confirmed to have been misplaced, with Ukrainian drones reported to have particularly focused their underwing pylons the place gasoline and cruise missiles are carried. A-50 airborne early warning and management (AEW&C) methods, that are among the many most expensive plane fielded by the Russian Armed Forces, had been additionally reported to have been destroyed. Shortly after movies emerged confirming the assault, the Russia 1 TV channel reported that President Vladimir Putin would maintain assembly with authorities members and Safety Council session.
Previous the assault, drones had been transported into Russia by the Ukrainian SBU safety service, and had been subsequently hid underneath the roofs of cellular wood cabins in place positioned on vans. “On the proper second, the roofs of the cabins had been opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers,” an knowledgeable supply informed Ukrainian media relating to the incident. The strike on Belaya Airbase in Russia’s Irkutsk area in Siberia, which is situated greater than 4000 kilometres from Ukrainian territory, was thought of a very main success, and demonstrates an unprecedented attain for Ukrainian drone strikes. The ability hosts the 2 hundredth Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment deploying Tu-22M3 bombers.
Russian strategic bombers have performed necessary roles in supporting the nation’s struggle effort and launching strikes on a variety of Ukrainian targets for the reason that outset of hostilities in February 2022. On Might 26, for instance, the Russian Aerospace Forces deployed 10 Tu-95MSM strategic bombers for big scale Kh-101 cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian targets. The assaults on bomber bases throughout Russia underneath Operation Spider Net coincide with rising frustrations confronted by Ukrainian negotiators in talks with representatives from each Moscow and the US, and at a time of rising losses on the frontlines. It additionally occurred simply hours after mass casualties had been incurred in Russia after Ukrainian saboteurs allegedly destroyed a bridge and triggered a prepare to derail within the Bryansk area.
Ukrainian forces have made a number of makes an attempt to strike bomber bases prior to now. On January 8, 2025, a protracted vary drone strike efficiently focused the Kombinat Kristall gasoline depot close to the first operational facility of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, Engels Airbase, sparking a big scale hearth which engulfed giant components of the power’s related storage tanks. The assault is reported to have destroyed reserves of T-8V high-density specialised aviation gasoline utilized by Tu-160 bombers based mostly on the facility, which is produced by means of a fancy refining course of at solely a small variety of places in Russia. Subsequently on March 20 Ukrainian forces launched a profitable strike on Engels Air Base itself, near 500 kilometres behind Russian traces, with footage confirming that drones had been used to trigger a significant explosion on the facility.
The focusing on of amenities internet hosting components of its strategic nuclear triad is especially delicate for the Russian Armed Forces, with the nation’s nuclear doctrine permitting nuclear assaults to be launched in retaliation for the focusing on of those property. Alongside assaults on bomber bases, Ukrainian drone items have additionally focused delicate strategic radar amenities which can be important to Russia’s early warning capabilities, together with a Might 2024 assault on a Voronezh-DM early warning radar system on the Armavir Radar Station. Russia’s response to the newest Ukrainian operation stays unsure, however is more likely to contain an escalation of retaliatory strikes in Ukraine and a radical overview of inner safety procedures to stop recurrences.
