[guest post by Dana]

It was a busy weekend for Ukraine’s military. Per President Zelensky:

Today, a brilliant operation was carried out. The preparation took over a year and a half. What’s most interesting, is that the “office” of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions.

In total, 117 drones were used in the operation with a corresponding number of drone operators involved. 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases were hit.

We will continue this work.

Congratulations to Ukraine!

Details:

An operation by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) using first-person-view (FPV) drones smuggled deep inside Russian and hidden inside trucks has hit 41 Russian heavy bombers at four airfields across the country, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on June 1.

The operation — codenamed “Spiderweb” and a year-and-a-half in the planning — appears to have dealt a major blow to the aircraft Moscow uses to launch long-range missile attacks on Ukraine’s cities.

“The SBU first transported FPV drones to Russia, and later, on the territory of the Russian Federation, the drones were hidden under the roofs of mobile wooden cabins, already placed on trucks,” the source said.

“At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.”

“Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3,” the source added.

The SBU later reported that the drone operation caused approximately $7 billion in damages and disabled 34% of cruise missile carriers in key Russian airbases.

So why has President Zelensky and the military chosen to reveal so many details of the surprise attack? Think asymmetric warfare:

Why did Ukraine publicly disclose so much info about Operation “Spiderweb”?

That’s a very good question — and the answer reveals how modern warfare now goes far beyond the battlefield.

First: russians would’ve figured it out anyway.

You don’t destroy 40+ aircraft across 4 airbases without someone noticing. Satellite imagery, media leaks, and local reports would’ve told the story eventually.

So why not own the narrative?

Second: disclosure is the strategy.

Ukraine revealed how it pulled off the operation — smuggling drones in decoy trucks, driving them 5,000 km through russia, and remotely launching them under the enemy’s nose.

This wasn’t just a strike. It was a psychological ambush.

Now, every russian cargo truck becomes a potential weapon.
Every driver is a potential saboteur.
Every highway — a threat vector.

Result? Paranoia, friction, and skyrocketing internal costs.

russia will now be forced to:
– Inspect every suspicious truck
– Monitor internal roads with military resources
– Distrust their own private drivers
– Slow down all logistics, civilian and military alike

This strains infrastructure. Chokes supply chains. Erodes trust.

Ukraine didn’t just hit planes — it weaponized uncertainty. It turned russia’s vast territory into a battlefield of doubt.

This is asymmetric warfare at its finest.

You don’t need to match your enemy plane-for-plane. You just need to make them afraid of their own shadow.

That’s how you win without even firing the next shot.

As I predicted, a truck phobia has now begun in russia — massive traffic jams have hit the Irkutsk region, and every cargo truck is being inspected.

Recently, I explained why Ukraine chose to publicly disclose so much information about Operation “Spiderweb.”

1/n pic.twitter.com/f8erRFbwQu

— Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@rshereme) June 2, 2025

P.S. It looks like it was a wise decision not to notify the White House that this was in the works.

—Dana