Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced that its large-scale Spiderweb drone operation, that simultaneously targeted four Russian military airfields on 1 June, destroyed or damaged 41 strategic aircraft worth over $7 billion.

SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk confirmed the operation struck the Belaya, Dyagilevo, Olenya, and Ivanovo airfields, located 2,000 (1242 miles) and over 4,000 km (2485 miles) from the frontline.

The strikes hit Russian aircraft, including A-50 early warning planes, Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, and Tu-22 M3 medium-range bombers.

The operation destroyed 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers used for attacks on Ukraine 

“The enemy bombed our state almost nightly with these aircraft, and today they truly felt that ‘retribution is inevitable […] We will respond to Russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere – at sea, in the air, and on land. And if necessary – we’ll get them from underground too,” SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk said.

Maliuk stated that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally monitored the operation’s progress and had tasked the SBU with destroying Russian bombers.

The operation required over 18 months of preparation and presented significant logistical challenges due to coordination across three time zones.

The SBU first transported FPV drones into Russian territory, followed by mobile wooden houses. The drones were concealed within these structures on cargo vehicles, with roofs designed to open remotely when activated.

“According to the laws and customs of war, we worked on absolutely legitimate targets – military airfields and aviation that bombs our peaceful cities. So from our side, this is real demilitarization of Russia, as we destroy precisely military targets,” Maliuk added.

The security service emphasized that all personnel involved in the operation have returned safely to Ukraine. 

Earlier, satellite images, captured by American aerospace company Umbra Space, revealed extensive destruction of Russian strategic bombers at the Belaya air base in Irkutsk Oblast, over 4,000 km from Ukraine. Satellite data confirmed the destruction of multiple Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers.