US President Donald Trump argued that Ukraine’s recent Spiderweb drone operation against Russian airfields gave Russia justification for its retaliatory strike on civilians.

“They gave the reason to go and bomb the hell out of them last night. That’s the thing I didn’t like about it. When I saw it, I said “Here we go, now it’s going to be a strike,” Trump said to journalists. 

Trump’s comments came after he held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 4 June that lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes. During that call, Putin warned that Russia would retaliate for a recent “Spiderweb” drone operation, according to Trump’s account.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also subsequently characterized its bombardment of Ukraine as retaliation for the Ukrainian airfield operation.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) published video documentation of a large-scale Spiderweb drone operation that targeted Russian strategic airbases.

The released footage shows FPV drone attacks on Russian airfields at Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya, some as far as 2000 km or 4000 km from the frontline. The SBU identified these locations as bases for Russia’s strategic aviation units that conduct regular strikes on Ukrainian civilian areas, the SBU reported.

The operation resulted in strikes against 41 Russian military aircraft, including A-50 early warning planes, Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, Tu-22 medium-range bombers, along with An-12 transport aircraft and Il-78 tankers.

The SBU stated that many of the struck aircraft were destroyed beyond repair, while others will require extended reconstruction periods.

The operation employed advanced drone control systems that combined artificial intelligence with human operators. When drones lost communication signals, they switched to autonomous mode using pre-programmed flight paths and AI algorithms. The warheads activated automatically upon reaching designated targets, according to the technical description provided.

The SBU estimated the total value of damaged equipment at over $7 billion. President Volodymyr Zelensky personally oversaw the mission’s execution, while SBU Head Vasyl Maliuk led the operational implementation.

President Zelenskyy described the Spider Web mission deep inside Russia as “restoration of justice” and a step toward “coercion to real peace.” On 4 June, he awarded Security Service personnel who carried out the special operation.

“The war is now inflicting tangible losses and damage on the aggressor as well,” he wrote.

New satellite imagery has emerged showing the destroyed Russian strategic aircraft at the Belaya air base in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast, located over 4000 km (2485 miles) away from Ukraine, after smuggled Ukrainian drones struck Russian military airfields on 1 June.

The images, captured by American aerospace company Umbra Space and published by geospatial intelligence consultant Chris Biggers on X, show destroyed and damaged Russian bombers.

According to Biggers’ analysis of the satellite data, the strike resulted in the destruction of three Tu-95MS strategic bombers with one additional aircraft damaged, along with one destroyed Tu-22M3 bomber.

A second image reveals what appears to be three Tu-22M3 strategic bombers that were either destroyed or heavily damaged.

The satellite images utilize synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, which allows imaging through cloud cover. 

Ukrainian Spiderweb operation

The operation, conducted on 1 June, targeted four Russian military airfields: Olenya, Belaya, Dyagilevo, and Ivanovo, using 117 AI-powered FPV drones smuggled into Russia hidden in trucks.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reports that the strikes hit various Russian aircraft including A-50 early warning planes, Tu-95 strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3 bombers.

Ukraine’s intelligence service claims the operation damaged 41 Russian aircraft, representing what they describe as “34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at their base airfields.” However, independent verification of this figure is not available.

The SBU has stated that personnel involved in preparing the operation, which spanned over 18 months, have returned to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that the SBU’s coordination center for the operation was located directly next to a Russian regional FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] office, highlighting the boldness and sophistication of the mission.

The Spiderweb operation represents Ukraine’s culmination of developing and utilizing drones for successful modern warfare. Ukrainian drone capabilities rapidly evolved from makeshift, volunteer-built systems into a $2.8 billion domestic industry producing millions of advanced drones, including AI-powered kamikaze models and heavy bombers like the “Baba Yaga.”