December 10, 2025: New details have been released about the Ukrainian Operation Spiderweb. This was the daring June 2024 Ukrainian attack on Russian airfields deep inside the country. SBU/Ukrainian Security Service recently revealed more details on this operation but withheld some details involving items that might be used again. Spiderweb was mostly about solving logistical problems. The drivers of the trucks were Russians who never knew they were working for the Ukrainians. The drivers simply delivered the crates containing the drones to specified locations and left. The operation was delayed a month because the drivers went on binge over Easter and were unavailable for the original operation dates. The Russian FSB/secret police eventually discovered where the Russian drivers lived, arrested them and tortured the drivers for information the drivers never had. In fact, the drivers did nothing illegal. They drove cargoes of sealed crates to specified locations and left them there. The drivers didn’t learn wh

The final staging area for the truck drivers was in Chelyabinsk, which is 2,100 kilometers from Ukraine. The trucks were stored in a garage one block from the FSB headquarters in Chelyabinsk. Since the trucks were Russian, as were the drivers, and the cargo was just wooden crates, the FSB never suspected a thing.

Another detail the Ukrainians revealed was that the warheads of those drones were armed with Shaped Charge devices. Normally these are used to penetrate armor. These shaped charges were used to penetrate the bomber's metal skin and penetrate deeply enough to hit a fuel line or tank and ignite whatever fuel was in the aircraft. This way the bombers supplied the flammable liquids needed to destroy or seriously damage them. Another revelation was that the SBU had made plans to keep the drones in the crates warm if the attacks were made during the winter.

The SBU spent nearly two years planning Spiderweb and it worked. Ukraine was able to launch a surprise drone attack on five Russian air bases located all over Russia. The farthest target was about 9,600 kilometers from Ukraine. One base was at Murmansk in northwestern Russia while another was in Amur Oblast near the Pacific coast. Two more, Ryazan and Ivanovo were near Ukraine while Irkutsk was in central Siberia near the Mongolian border.

The attacks destroyed 41 aircraft, nearly 35 percent of the Russian long-range bomber fleet. Several other bombers were damaged but repairable. Most were Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic bombers.

Ukraine estimated the destroyed aircraft were worth $7 billion. Actually, these bombers are priceless because none of the destroyed bombers are manufactured anymore. Even making repairs is difficult because few of the aircraft components are still being made.

Ukraine called this operation Spider's Web because it involved smuggling 117 drones worth about half a million dollars. The drones were transported on several tractor-trailer trucks hauling standard cargo containers. These containers were modified so that the tops would be raised by remote control and the drones inside launched. The drones were First Person View/FPV models and the controllers were in Ukraine. There was not a lot of control to do because the drones had targeting systems that sought images of specific aircraft and landed on or near the aircraft fuel tanks before detonating. The remaining fuel in those tanks did most of the damage. Two or three drones were assigned to each target,

The Russian heavy bombers carried up to eight Kh-101 missiles each. These missiles are like the 1983 American Tomahawk but did not enter service until 2010. Tomahawks have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers while the Kh-101 can travel as far as 5,500 kilometers. For the Ukraine War most of these missiles carried less fuel and larger 800 kg warheads. The missiles were usually launched about a thousand kilometers from the Ukrainian border to avoid being shot down by Ukrainian aircraft or Patriot missiles.

While somewhat stealthy, they travel at subsonic speed and Ukrainian air defenses soon became quite proficient at shooting them down, usually with Patriot or other missiles. Ukrainian aircraft carrying long-range anti-aircraft missiles have also accounted for a lot of Kh-101s. In response Russia is using more inexpensive drones while developing high-speed Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Kinzhal is more likely to reach its target but costs five times as much as Kh-101 and entered service in 2018. Ukrainians air defense experts found ways to intercept Kinzhal, but not as frequently as Kh-101s.