Spiderweb Operation: Russian Tu-95MS Bombers Armed for Strike on Ukraine Before Their Destruction

Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers were armed with Kh-101 cruise missiles intended for strikes on Ukraine before they were destroyed, according to drone footage released by Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU).

The video, recorded by Ukrainian kamikaze drones, shows what the SSU reports were preparations for a missile strike.

The agency said the intensity of the fires at the airfields indicates that the aircraft had been refueled for takeoff.

Footage from the Belaya and Olenya airbases captures long-range X-101 cruise missiles mounted under the wings of Tu-95MS bombers.

These are the same missiles Russia has used in repeated strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

According to the SSU, the Pavutyna (Spiderweb) operation disrupted the planned attack and destroyed several of Russia’s long-range bombers.

Spiderweb Operation

On June 1, Ukrainian drones struck several Russian military airfields. The drones, delivered in advance to Russian territory, targeted aircraft used in long-range missile attacks.

Some Ukrainian commentators referred to the scale of the damage as a “new Tsushima” for Russian aviation.

According to official statements, the SSU used 117 attack drones launched from containers mounted on trucks.

In an address later that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the operation had been directed from inside Russia, near the FSS headquarters.

A senior NATO official shared that the alliance had recorded damage to at least 40 Russian aircraft, with 10 to 13 reportedly destroyed.

The official said NATO identified 15 Tu-95 bombers, 20 Tu-22s, and at least one A-50 airborne early warning aircraft among the damaged or destroyed.

Russia possesses only a small number of A-50s.

The Alliance estimates that 34% of Russia’s missile carrier fleet was destroyed in the attack — a loss it described as critically damaging to Moscow’s strike capabilities. The NATO official called the Ukrainian operation highly successful.