Whack9 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 02, 2025 12:35 pm
Another opportunity for a shakedown if the US was in the know.
Everything is transactional, but TACO Don isn't very good at it.
'Operation Spiderweb’: How Ukraine destroyed over a third of Russian bombers
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Sunday that over a third of all Russian missile carriers have been hit in a coordinated drone attack aimed at different airfields in Russia located thousands of kilometres apart.
More than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-22 M3, causing overall damage of more than €6 billion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "Operation Spiderweb" had made "an absolutely brilliant result" which was "achieved solely by Ukraine."
"over a third" - Wow, that's impressive.
The Ukrainian president also shared more details on how the operation was carried out, explaining that 117 drones had been used, each with its own pilot.
"The most interesting thing — and we can already say this publicly — is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located right next to the FSB (Federal Security Service) of Russia, in one of their regions,” he said in a post on Telegram.
In a major blow to Russia’s security services, Zelenskyy said Ukraine managed not only to execute the operation but also to safely withdraw the people involved. They were operating "in different Russian regions — in three time zones."
“Our most long-range operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time," he explained.
Why are they revealing so much? Is is a one-off that can never be repeated? Are these all things that Russia is certain to learn on its own? Oh well, it makes for good vicarious fun.
Zelenskyy said it took Kyiv "one year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution."
He thanked the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, General Vasyl Malyuk, and asked him to reveal the details and results of the operation to the public.
"Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books," he added.
Guess that partially answers my questions.
... The targeting of Russian bombers, which have been carrying out massive missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, was previously considered almost unthinkable. Moscow had made sure to keep them well out of the range of Kyiv’s weapons, both homemade and those supplied by allies.
Olenya air base is located in Russia's Murmansk region, around 2,000 km from the border with Ukraine. Belaya air base is in Russia's Irkutsk region, in south-eastern Siberia and over 4,000 km east of the frontline. These two airfields were among the hardest hit during Sunday's operation.
... FPV drones typically cost only a few hundred euros, while a Russian A50 radar detection aircraft, which was reportedly hit today along with other planes, costs over €300 million.
Ukraine’s presidential advisor and former minister of strategic industries Oleksandr Kamyshin has said Ukrainian manufacturers have the capacity to produce over 5 million FPV drones per year.
x over 5 million. Warfare is forever changed.
