Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian air bases expose Russia's vulnerability

Arrests, searches, road checks: Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and police were on high alert on Monday, June 2, as they sought to track down those responsible for the Ukrainian drone attack on several airfields that house Russia's strategic aviation.

The operation, dubbed "Spider Web," took place the previous day across the Russian Federation, from Murmansk in the far north to Amur in the far east, including the central regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan as well as Irkutsk, in Siberia. Coordinated by Ukraine's security service, the operation caught Russian intelligence by surprise. Although no fully verified account has yet been established, Kyiv claimed the strike destroyed or damaged 41 Russian military aircraft, including 11 strategic bombers – Tu-95s and Tu-22s.

The destruction of several bombers was confirmed by open-source footage from the Olenya air base in Murmansk and from Belaya air base in Irkutsk, near Lake Baikal.