Ukraine’s recent drone attack on Russian airbases, known as Operation Spider’s Web, has been hailed as a significant turning point in the war. The attack, which targeted Russian strategic aviation, resulted in the damage or destruction of 41 aircraft, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Half of them cannot be restored,” he said, “and some will take years to repair, if they can be restored at all.”
The Attack’s Success
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released footage of the attack, showing drones homing in on Russian bombers and AWACS aircraft. The footage also revealed that the drones were stored in specially constructed containers, mounted on flatbed trucks, which were transported to sites close to the Russian airbases.
Roman Pohorlyi, founder of the DeepState, a group of Ukrainian military analysts, described the operation as “one of the most brilliant operations in our history.” “We’ve shown that we can be strong, we can be creative and we can destroy our enemies no matter how far away they are,” he said.
Impact on Russia’s Military Capabilities
The attack has significant implications for Russia’s military capabilities. The destruction of the Beriev A-50 AWACS aircraft, which has radar capable of seeing targets and threats over 600km away, is particularly significant.
Russia’s fleet of these crucial aircraft could now be down to as few as four. “Restarting production of the A-50 is presently highly unlikely, due to difficulties with import substitution and the destruction of production facilities,” defence analyst Serhii Kuzan said. “As such, every loss of this type of aircraft constitutes a strategic problem for Russia, one it cannot quickly compensate for.”
Assessing the Impact
Aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi described the attack as a “turning point in the war.” “Because we have dealt a significant blow to Russia’s image and the capabilities of the Russian Federation,” he said. Ukraine has shown the world that Russia is “actually weak and cannot defend itself internally,” Khrapchynskyi added.
However, it’s unlikely that Russia will change course, and President Putin has vowed to respond to the attack. “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Donald Trump said after a conversation with Putin.