Russia Lost 34% of Strategic Aviation in Spiderweb Operation — NATO

NATO has described Pavutyna (Spiderweb) Operation, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, as highly successful.

A senior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity at a briefing in Brussels, shared that the operation was “the most successful” from the Alliance’s perspective, according to a European Pravda correspondent.

The official noted that NATO’s assessment is based on its own analysis rather than Ukrainian sources, though the conclusions are broadly aligned.

“We estimate that at least 40 aircraft were damaged. Between 10 and 13 were completely destroyed,” the official noted.

Among the damaged aircraft, NATO identified 15 Tu-95 strategic bombers, 20 Tu-22 bombers, and at least one A-50 airborne early warning aircraft — the latter being a limited and high-value asset for the Russian military.

According to NATO estimates, the attack destroyed 34% of Russia’s long-range missile carriers.

“This has a critical impact on Russian capabilities,” the official said.

At the same time, the representative acknowledged that the estimates do not account for whether the damaged or destroyed aircraft were fully operational or actively used in combat missions.

NATO also lacks data on whether any of the aircraft served as donor platforms for spare parts.

Even if not all aircraft were combat-ready, the losses are expected to significantly constrain Russia’s ability to carry out missile strikes, particularly those often launched in the early morning hours, the official added.

He also emphasized that the operation demonstrates Ukraine’s capability to strike Russian military targets across the country.