Truck Drivers Share Their Role in Operation Spider’s Web

Truck drivers who transported strike drones to Russian strategic aviation airfields were misled regarding the nature of the cargo and were monitored throughout the entire journey to the destination.

The details from the interrogations of the detained drivers by Russian investigative authorities were disclosed by the Baza news outlet.

One of the drivers, a 55-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk named Alexander Z., stated that he operated a vehicle owned by a 37-year-old individual named Artem. Some time ago, he received an order from a businessman in the Murmansk region to arrange the transportation of four prefabricated frame houses from Chelyabinsk to the Kolsky district in the Murmansk region.

The men agreed on the price, after which Alexander loaded the “cargo” into the truck and set off on the journey. According to the driver, an unknown person contacted him by phone during the trip, providing the instructions on where and when Alexander needed to stop. The final task was to stop near a Rosneft gas station close to a military airfield in the Murmansk region. It was from this location that the drones were launched.

A similar story was told by the driver of another truck, 61-year-old named Andrey M. He reported that he drove a truck also owned by the same Artem, and his assignment had been the delivery of frame houses to the Irkutsk region. However, when he parked near the Teremok café in Usolye-Sibirskoye, drones began to fly out of the truck.

Similar stories were told by the drivers of trucks from which drones were launched in the Ryazan and Ivanovo regions. For example, 46-year-old Sergey informed investigators that he had been transporting a modular house from Chelyabinsk. Upon entering Ryazan, the roof of his “cargo” came off while in transit, and drones began to fly out from there.

The fourth truck, from which drones were launched yesterday near the Ivanovo airfield, was also loaded in Chelyabinsk. According to the driver, the vehicle belonged to the same Artem.

According to Baza, investigators have opened a criminal case under the charge of “Terrorism.” They are currently searching for the owner of the vehicles — Artem. Preliminary information indicates that he is originally from Ukraine.

The day before, Russian Telegram channels reported the identification of the location where the strike drones were assembled for the operation, at 28A Sverdlovsky Trakt Street, 28a, the city of Chelyabinsk. The site turned out to be a warehouse facility, which was allegedly identified based on photos released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). On the same day, Russian security forces conducted searches at the location.

The day after the Ukrainian special services operation, a campaign began in Russia involving mass inspections of trucks for possible drone transportation.

The residents of the Irkutsk region in Russia report multi-kilometer traffic jams caused by police checks of trucks.

Operation Spider’s Web, aimed at destroying Russian strategic aviation aircraft, targeted military airfields at Belaya, Ivanovo, Ukrainka, Olenya, and Dyagilevo. Militarnyi analyzed the aircraft fleet and examined the first satellite images following the strikes.