Few military operations manage to combine tactical brilliance, psychological disruption, and economic damage as effectively as Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web attack on June 1. This audacious strike deep into Russian territory didn’t just damage airbases and destroy aircraft. It rewrote the rules of asymmetric warfare in the 21st century.
Over the course of 18 months, Ukrainian special forces meticulously planned a mission that culminated in one of the most significant strategic strikes since the full-scale Russian invasion began.
Using cargo containers custom-built to conceal drones — hidden in wooden boxes mounted beneath the roofs — Ukrainian operatives managed to transport attack drones nearly 5,000km (3,000 miles) across Russian territory. Unwitting Russian drivers delivered the trucks close to major Russian airbases. Once in position, the roofs of the containers opened remotely, unleashing swarms of drones toward Russia’s long-range bombers.
The results were staggering, even on the lowest estimates. The strikes hit four separate Russian airfields, and there is no argument that they did serious damage. Ukrainian intelligence officials claimed they had damaged or destroyed over 40 aircraft from an operational fleet of around 80. That would represent a savage blow. Open source intelligence estimates using satellite images confirmed 13 losses, while Western officials cited by the New York Times said the number of destroyed and badly damaged aircraft was 20.
Among the aircraft were A-50 surveillance planes and Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers — aircraft central to Russia’s long-range cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Preliminary estimates put the financial toll at up to $7bn. Perhaps more critically, many of these aircraft are no longer in production. What was lost cannot easily be replaced.
There have been previous and significant attacks on Russian airbases (see here, here, and here), but nothing of this scale, either during this war or any other. It is simply unprecedented.
But the genius of Operation Spider’s Web lies not only in its technical execution or physical impact. It is equally a masterclass in psychological and economic warfare. Rather than hide the details of the operation, Ukraine chose to disclose them publicly — a strategic decision that sent shockwaves through the Russian system. By revealing how the mission was carried out, Ukraine weaponized paranoia.
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Now, every cargo truck in Russia is a potential threat. Every driver is a suspect. In the days following the attack, massive traffic jams were reported in regions like Irkutsk, as authorities began systematically inspecting cargo trucks. Surveillance and internal security resources are being diverted to monitor tens of thousands of kilometers of highway. Military and civilian logistics are slowing down. Contractors are being viewed with suspicion. Bottlenecks are forming. Trust is eroding.
This is the new face of asymmetric warfare. Ukraine doesn’t need to match Russia plane-for-plane. It only needs to force Russia to doubt the integrity of its own systems. When a country as large as Russia begins to mistrust its own supply chains, it starts to break down from within.
The ripple effects of this operation are likely to be long-term. Russia’s military machine is deeply dependent on road transport, which accounts for approximately 70% of its cargo volume. The cost of delaying, inspecting, and rerouting this volume is immense. The psychological toll on a population already under stress from sanctions, conscription, and economic decline is even greater.
Operation Spider’s Web also delivers a powerful message to Ukraine’s allies in the West: this is what strategic clarity and innovation can achieve. Ukraine isn’t asking NATO to fight on its behalf. It is demonstrating that, with the right resources and freedom to act, it can inflict enormous damage on Russia’s war-making capacity. What it needs is support: weapons, logistics, and continued economic pressure on the Kremlin.
The operation stands as a model of how smaller nations can successfully confront militarily superior adversaries through creativity, determination, and strategic communication. It underscores the importance of not just battlefield tactics, but also psychological warfare, operational transparency, and the weaponization of doubt.
This is how you stop a war: not just by defending your territory, but by reaching deep into the heart of the aggressor’s system and shaking its confidence.
As Russia scrambles to respond to this breach, one thing is clear: Operation Spider’s Web will be studied worldwide for the new risks faced by armed forces and civilian infrastructure. Military academies will pore over the attack for decades to come.
It is not merely a Ukrainian success; it is a warning to all those that believe distance or size can guarantee safety.
Ukraine has proven otherwise.
Roman Sheremeta, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics at Case Western Reserve University.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
Date: June 5, 2025
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm CET
Europe’s Edge
CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America.
