Inside Ukraine’s Web: The AI-Driven Assault on Russian Air Bases
Cheaply constructed drones were employed in the “Spider’s Web” operation, which was smuggled deep into Russian territory and used to strike Russian military airfields.
Ukraine undertook a clandestine operation against Russia on the eve of peace talks, which Volodymyr Zelensky called one for the “history books.” Cheaply manufactured drones were employed in the “Spider’s Web” operation, which was code-named, to attack Russian military airfields deep within its territory.
An AI video created by NDTV demonstrates how Ukraine made the impossible possible, using cost-effective means to exact Russian losses, with an element of surprise.
Unaware drivers drove semi-trailer trucks loaded with 117 Ukrainian drones—worth only $1,200 apiece—into Russian territory. The drones then launched to target Russia’s strategic bombers. The explosive-laden drones concealed within the truck’s wooden crates are seen in the footage. A remotely operated device raised the containers’ roof panels, enabling the drones to take flight and launch their assault.
By the end, over 40 Russian warplanes were severely damaged or destroyed in the span of a few hours, with costs estimated to be around $7 billion, according to Ukraine’s security service SBU.
Belaya Air Base, located more than 4,000 miles from Ukraine in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, was the most conspicuous target. Ukraine needed a unique plan to get the drones close enough to their targets because that is outside the range of its long-range strike drones and ballistic missiles.
Without specifying its location within Russia, Zelensky stated that the operation, which had been prepared for over a year and a half, was led from an office adjacent to an FSB office. The first-person view (FPV) drones were smuggled into Russia and placed in wooden crates before being picked up by trucks near the airfields.
All operatives taking part had been brought out of Russia “on the eve of the operation”, said Zelensky, who personally oversaw the operation. Ukraine launched drone strikes against Russian military airfields in five different regions on Sunday, Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed on the Telegram messaging app.
All but two areas were able to rebuff air attacks: Irkutsk in Siberia and Murmansk in the far north, where “the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire.” There were no casualties when the fires were put out. According to the government, some of the attackers had been taken into custody.
SBU said Russia had lost 34 percent of its strategic cruise missile carriers at its airfields. It claimed the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M were destroyed in the attack.
The assault was carried out the day before Monday’s round of direct peace negotiations in Istanbul. It also happened on the same day that Russia launched yet another round of drones against Ukraine, this time a record 472.
Russia may be less able to launch catastrophic missile barrages against Ukraine if the jets are lost. Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic long-range strategic bombers, which have been deployed to launch missiles against targets in Ukraine, are stationed at the Irkutsk region air base.
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