Ukrainian troops destroyed dozens of Russian fighter jets in a coordinated drone strike on Sunday, hitting five military airports and igniting aircraft, including strategic bombers and surveillance aircraft.
The Ukrainian Security Services Corporation (SBU) said the operation, known as the "spider web", took 18 months to plan and was personally supervised by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The small FPV drone used in Ukraine is hidden in a wooden house installed on a truck. When the truck reaches its target, the roof is opened through the remote control and the drone is launched.
Videos on social media showed the drone unloaded from a parked truck and hit a large aircraft on the runway.
Ukraine destroys dozens of Russian fighter jets, drones hit Russia's depths
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a senior military commander in his office in Kiev, a drone strike targeting Russian air bases deep in Russian territory after announcing the "network of Operation Spider Web". (@zelenskyyuu via x)
Zelenskyy called the operation "an absolutely excellent result" and said it was "implemented only by Ukraine".
The mission took "a year, six months and nine days from the start of the planning to effective execution" and described it as "our most remote operation." He added: "Our people involved in the preparations for action withdraw from Russian territory in a timely manner" and thanked General Vasyl Maliuk, head of SBU for his success.
Zelensky said some details have not been revealed, but declared: "These are Ukrainian actions and will undoubtedly be in the history books... Ukraine is defending itself, and that's right."
Russia's defense ministry confirmed that airports in five regions were attacked: Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Reshan and Amur.
Russia called the strike a "terrorist act" but said its troops repelled the attack. Nevertheless, the ministry admitted several planes were on fire. Russian officials said some suspects have been arrested.
Ukraine said 117 drones were used.
SBU claims 34% of Russian strategic bombers were attacked, with an estimated loss of $7 billion. The BBC monitoring report said other Ukrainian experts estimated at $2 billion. These figures have not been confirmed yet.
The attacks will begin on Monday in Istanbul, which has been supported by President Donald Trump, the BBC reported.
Russia launches the largest Ukrainian war air strike, killing at least 12
This image comes from a video released by a source from the Ukrainian security department on June 1, 2025, showing Ukrainian drones hitting Russian aircraft deep in Russian territory. (Ukrainian security services are AP)
Ukraine said it would push for a complete ceasefire, the return of captured prisoners and the return of children brought back to Russia. Russia has not agreed to these terms yet.
The White House confirmed to Fox News that the Trump administration did not inform the attack in advance. Defence Minister Pete Hegseth spoke to Ukrainian officials immediately after the operation and ended up receiving a full briefing and subsequent update, according to a senior defense official.
Officials say the blitz is highly complex and the Pentagon is not sure the quadratic drone introduced in Russia in the cabin is piloted or autonomous.
The official said U.S. officials were skeptical reports that up to 50 Russian bombers were hit and believed that the number could be between 11 and 15, adding that it could involve as many as 5 Russian airports.
In this undated photo provided by the Ukrainian security department, Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Services Department, studied a photo of a Russian strategic aviation location map in his Ukrainian office. (Ukrainian security services are AP)
Military experts say the raid undermined Russia's ability to launch long-range missile attacks. Bombers hit aircraft including TU-95 and TU-22M3, which were used in past Ukrainian strikes.
Ukraine also claims it damaged Russian A-50 radar aircraft to direct Russian air power.
BBC weapons analyst Chris Partridge said air defense measures like the S-300 and S-400 have little time to react because the drones were launched from within Russia.
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The White House did not immediately respond to other requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News contributed to the report.