These aircraft rained death on Ukrainian cities — now they’re burning on their own airfields. On 1 June, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) carried out a stunning special operation dubbed “Spiderweb,” destroying or disabling at least 41 Russian aircraft involved in massive airstrikes against Ukraine.

“There are aircraft that were burned, and others damaged beyond repair. For a long time, they won’t be able to carry out terrorist acts,” said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat.

Since 2022, the Russians have launched 2,437 Kh-101, Kh-555, and Kh-55 cruise missiles from these bombers, of which 1,916 were intercepted. However, more than 500 reached their targets.

“Russia also used Tu-22M3 bombers with Kh-22 and Kh-32 missiles. The Kh-22 is known as an ‘aircraft carrier killer’… the enemy used them to strike major cities. There were many casualties,” Ihnat adds. 

Russia has also launched over 400 Kh-22 missiles, and only a few were intercepted by air defenses. The missile carries a warhead weighing over 900 kg and is among the most powerful in Russia’s arsenal.

For instance, in 2025, Russia killed 14 civilians, including two children, with such missiles, demolishing a five-storey residential building in Poltava. No military targets were located in the area. 

In 2024, a missile of the same type broke a huge hole in the residential building in Dnipro, ruining a driveway and killing almost every civilian in it. 

Ukraine’s air defense downed 25 out of 38 Russian missiles during massive attack

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk for the operation’s results. He noted that the SBU’s operational office in Russian territory was located right next to a regional FSB headquarters. In total, 117 drones were used in the operation.

An explosion occurred at Kerch Strait Bridge this morning. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) on 3 June confirmed it carried out an operation to damage the Kerch Bridge from below the waterline, marking the third time Ukrainian forces have struck the Russian-built structure connecting occupied Crimea with mainland Russia. 

According to the SBU, the operation targeted the underwater supports of the Crimean bridge—known by Russia as the Kerch bridge—with specially planted explosive devices. The agency reported that the attack was launched precisely at 4:44 a.m., damaging the bridge at the level of its underwater support pillars.

The explosives used amounted to 1100 kg in TNT equivalent, the SBU stated, describing the bridge as now in a critical or near-emergency condition. The SBU emphasized that the explosion caused no civilian casualties.

SBU head Vasyl Maliuk personally coordinated and supervised the planning and execution of the mission. He stated:

“God loves the Trinity (Ukrainian saying used when something occurs for the third time, – Ed.), and the SBU always finishes what it starts and never repeats itself. We struck the Crimean bridge twice before, in 2022 and 2023. Today, we continued that tradition—this time from underwater.”

Legitimate military target

Maliuk justified the strike as a response to Russia’s continued occupation of Ukrainian territory and the use of the bridge as a key supply route for Russian military operations in southern Ukraine.

“No illegal object of the Russian Federation has any place on the territory of our state,” he said. “The Crimean bridge is an entirely legal target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops. Crimea is Ukraine, and any signs of occupation will be met with a tough response.”

Damage remains unverified

The full extent of the underwater damage has not yet been independently verified. However, the SBU’s statement indicates significant harm to the bridge’s structural supports at the seabed level. Russia has not yet commented on the event at the time of publication.

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.