Inside Ukraine's AI-Drone Strike That Cost Russia $7 Billion and a Third of Its Bomber Jets

Reports began emerging in Ukrainian and Russian media on June 1, 2025, of strikes on four Russian airbases housing strategic bombers. It was later confirmed that five airfields were targeted. Videos circulating online showed drones slamming into Russian Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers in quick succession.

What shocked observers most was the distance: Belaya Airbase, for example, lies more than 4,500 kilometers from Ukraine’s border—far beyond the known range of any Ukrainian weapon. In reality, no Ukrainian system had ever reached that far. The operation, orchestrated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), was a daring and technically sophisticated mission deep inside Russian territory. It took 18 months to prepare. 

How did they pull it off?

Operation Spider Web

One of the greatest threats to Ukrainian cities is Russia’s strategic aviation, which launches missiles from distant locations far beyond the reach of drones or even conventional missiles.

That’s why the SBU developed Operation Pavutyna (“Spider Web”)—an audacious plan to strike these assets unexpectedly from close range. The weapon of choice: FPV drones, which needed to be launched in proximity to their targets to be effective. Such a brazen assault was entirely unanticipated, and conventional air defenses were unprepared to counter it.

Ukraine used artificial intelligence to ensure pinpoint accuracy. In the city of Poltava, home to a museum of long-range strategic aviation, drones were trained using AI to recognize and strike aircraft in ways that would maximize destruction. These drones did not act at random; they “knew” their targets.

A total of 117 drones were deployed, each controlled by its own operator.

Ukraine then covertly transported the trained drones into Russia, gradually assembling them in the city of Chelyabinsk. However, direct drone launches by Ukrainian agents on Russian soil were not feasible. This is where the now-infamous “Trojan Trucks” came into play.

Custom-built mock “cabins” were mounted on flatbed trailers and concealed FPV drones beneath their roofs. Truck drivers delivered these rigs to pre-selected launch sites near airbases. Once in position, the rooftops were remotely opened and the drones launched toward their targets. Afterward, the truck-mounted cabins self-destructed.

Nearly every aspect of this operation was unique: how the AI was trained for maximum effect, how the drones were smuggled into Russia, how the disguised truck shelters were engineered, and the fact that all strikes occurred simultaneously. All personnel involved in the operation had been evacuated from Russia well before its execution and are now safe. Sources say the operation’s scale and logistical complexity required 18 months of preparation.

To recap: trucks parked near Russian airfields deployed FPV drones, which, guided by AI, identified specific aircraft and destroyed them. All of this was conducted from nearly 5,000 kilometers away in Kyiv, where the operation was coordinated.

34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers hit

What makes this operation especially significant is not just its complexity, but the choice of targets: strategic bombers—high-value, sophisticated, and effectively irreplaceable assets, including platforms capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

SBU says the operation damaged or destroyed 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers. This includes Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, A-50 airborne early warning aircraft, and possibly several transport planes. While exact figures remain unclear, reports suggest 41 aircraft were hit, with 10 completely destroyed, beyond any possibility of repair.

Russia has begun promoting a propaganda narrative downplaying the losses and claiming the attack was repelled. However, the SBU estimates the total cost of the damage at $7 billion.

Many of these losses are irreversible: the last Tu-22M3 was manufactured in 1993. Russia has no replacements for these aircraft, nor for the Tu-95 or Tu-160. Existing plans for modernization are years away from implementation, if at all. In essence, Ukraine is dismantling the remnants of the Soviet aviation legacy that Russia still relies upon.

A technological milestone

The outcome of Operation Spider Web marks a turning point: using advanced technologies and precise execution, Ukraine delivered a targeted blow to the most critical assets of the Russian Air Force.

Meanwhile, Russia continues its own tactics—launching 905 drones and 90 ballistic and cruise missiles over a single weekend, overwhelmingly aimed at civilian cities.

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