The brazen Ukrainian blitz of Russian warplanes Sunday was 18 months in the making and the Pentagon was kept in the dark until it was over, sources told Fox News.
“Operation Spider’s Web,” a series of coordinated drone strikes penetrating deep into Russian territory, is believed to have taken out dozens of Russia’s most powerful bomber jets and surveillance planes as they sat idle on five military airfields.
The stunning operation was personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said.
Ukraine used small FPV drones hidden inside wooden cabins mounted on trucks. When the trucks reached their targets, the roofs opened by remote control, and the drones launched.
Videos on social media showed drones lifting off from parked trucks and striking large aircraft on the runways.
This image taken from a video released by a source in the Ukrainian Security Service on June 1, 2025, shows a Ukrainian drone striking Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
Ukraine says it will push for a full ceasefire, the return of captured prisoners, and the return of children taken to Russia. Those terms have not been agreed to by Russia.
The White House confirmed to Fox News that the Trump administration was not informed about the attack in advance. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who did not speak to Ukrainian officials immediately after the operation, was ultimately given a full briefing and subsequent updates, according to a senior defense official.
The officials said the blitz was highly sophisticated, and that the Pentagon is unsure whether the quadcopter drones, which were prepositioned in Russia in cabins and then offloaded into trucks, were piloted or autonomous.
U.S. officials were skeptical of reports that up to 50 Russian bombers were hit, and believed the number was likely between 11 and 15, the official said, who added it may have involved as many as five Russian airfields.
In this undated photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service, head of the Security Service Vasyl Malyuk studies a photo of a map of Russia’s strategic aviation location in his office in Ukraine. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
Military experts say the raid damaged Russia’s ability to launch long-range missile attacks. The bombers hit included TU-95 and TU-22M3 aircraft, which have been used in past strikes on Ukraine.
Ukraine also claimed it damaged a Russian A-50 radar aircraft, used to direct Russian air power.
