Ukraine says it destroyed dozens of Russian warplanes in its unprecedented ‘Spiderweb’ operation. Here’s what the footage shows.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) carried out an unprecedented attack on military airfields in regions across Russia. The operation reportedly involved smuggling drones into the country and then launching them from trucks parked along highways. The SBU claims it destroyed more than 40 Russian warplanes. This figure has not been independently confirmed, but open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts have begun working to determine how many aircraft were affected. Here’s what they’ve found so far.
OSINT researchers have begun analyzing footage to assess the scale of the damage done by Ukraine’s coordinated wave of drone attacks, dubbed “Spiderweb,” on Russian air bases on Sunday.
According to Ukrainian media reports, at least four airfields were struck: Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region, Olenya in the Murmansk region, Belaya in the Irkutsk region, and Ivanovo (Severny) in the Ivanovo region. The SBU said it destroyed over 40 Russian aircraft, though it has not provided evidence of this.
OSINT analyst Chris Biggers reported on Sunday night that at least six Russian aircraft had been destroyed or damaged at Belaya air base. He published two satellite images taken with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a technology that provides detailed imaging of surface terrain.
In one image, Biggers identified three Tu-95 strategic bombers that appear to have been destroyed and a fourth that may have been damaged. He also shared an image showing what he believes to be the wreckage of a supersonic Tu-22 bomber.
In a second SAR image, Biggers identified three destroyed Tu-22s. It's unclear whether the Tu-22 seen in the first image also appears in the second. Other analysts have said that a total of three Tu-22s appear to have been destroyed at Belaya.
Satellite imagery from the day before the strike showed 52 long-range aircraft at Belaya: six Tu-95MS bombers, 39 Tu-22M3s, and seven Tu-160s, along with 30 MiG-31 fighter jets, according to the OSINT project AviVector.
At Olenya air base in the Murmansk region, video footage appears to show aircraft catching fire. OSINT analyst MarcinRogowsk14 reported that two Tu-95MS bombers and one An-12 military transport plane were destroyed and that two additional Tu-95s were damaged. Another analyst, Intelschizo, said that four Tu-95s and one An-22 were destroyed, and a fifth Tu-95 was likely lost. Analyst Moklasen estimated that either three or four strategic bombers were destroyed at the site.
As of May 26, satellite images showed 11 Tu-95MS bombers, 40 Tu-22M3s, and five An-12s stationed at Olenya, according to AviVector.
No satellite images or verified videos have yet emerged from the other air bases reportedly targeted in the drone strikes.
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged that “several” aircraft caught fire at airfields in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions due to drone attacks. It also said that drone strikes on airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions were successfully repelled.
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