Russian air power crippled: Ukraine's bold "Spiderweb" strike

Much of the information provided by Russian media or government representatives is part of propaganda. These reports are part of the information war waged by the Russian Federation.

The breathtaking attack by Kyiv surprised everyone. On Sunday, 1st June, Ukraine carried out an operation under the codename "Spiderweb." Key Russian military airfields were attacked, marking the largest such offensive since the onset of the Russian invasion. More than 40 aircraft were damaged, including the A-50 early warning aircraft and Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 bombers. Losses are estimated to be around £5 billion.

Leading Kremlin propagandists exclaimed: "It's a Russian Pearl Harbor."

"Because drones attacked from a minimal distance, there was no opportunity to evacuate the aircraft from under attack or to use defence systems like Pancyr or S-300," wrote the author of the Fighterbomber channel. "I think the attack also surprised air defence units. Today's news is unlikely to be good. Today will be remembered as a black day for Russian long-range aviation," we read.

"I don't even know how one could respond to this or with what. And indeed, we don't have dozens of countries that could provide us with aircraft," wrote former advisor to the governor of the Kursk region, blogger Roman Alekhine. "It's a Russian Pearl Harbor," he added.

"A new stage of the war. It was only a matter of time before FPV-drones started hitting our rear areas," said Komsomolskaya Pravda war correspondent Aleksandr Kots. "Now the truth must be told, even if it's bitter," he added.

"The bombers were built during the times of the USSR and are an inviolable strategic resource," wrote the Romanov Light channel. "The modern command could only cover the fuselages with tyres. They didn't even think of hanging a fishing net, as operators do on the front," he added.

"Hostile sources write that at the Belya airfield, two Tu-160 aircraft might have been hit as well," cautiously assessed publicist Ruslan Ostashko. He added that, together with the Tu-95, this makes at least nine damaged machines.

The propaganda channel Dva Majora writes: "It's a direct blow to the strategic balance of nuclear forces. It's a weakening of our country's nuclear protection."

The largest pro-Russian military channel Rybar noted that the Russian Ministry of Defence was, once again, unprepared for a quick response and remains silent: "Every time there is chaos, and Russia gets hit where it is weak, the Ministry buries its head in the sand and doesn't react," we read.

Rybar reminds us that the Tu-95 and Tu-22 were long withdrawn from production, so there's nothing to replenish the losses. "This is, without a doubt, a very serious damage to the strategic component, caused both by serious mistakes in the work of special services and by a neglectful approach to aircraft, which even after all the attacks, stood in the open field without cover," the author noted.

In the evening, the action was summarised on social media by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with the head of Ukraine's SBU, Vasyl Maliuk.

"A year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to successful execution. Our most far-reaching operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory on time," Volodymyr Zelensky informed.

Zelensky added that he instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to inform the public about the details and results of the operation that can be disclosed.