The series of ‘David vs Goliath’ clashes at war has seen a long-anticipated novelty - a highly effective use of first-person view (FPV) ‘One Way Effector’ (OWE) drones, constructed from 'sh*t and sticks’, to undermine one of the pillars of Russia’s nuclear deterrence triad. This Mossad-style hard kill operation on June 1, 2025 resulted in the confirmed destruction of no fewer than six aging but still mission-effective Tu-95MS Bear-H turboprop-powered strategic bombers, plus five more Tu-22M3 Backfire-C jet-powered long-range bombers plus a single An-12 turboprop transport. At least two more Tu-95MS’ took hits and were damaged, but the real extent is still unknown.

Soon after the well-timed attacks against Russian airbases housing strategic bombers, the Security Service of Ukraine (better known as SBU) acknowledged that it had conducted a large-scale sabotage operation well into the enemy territory. They released a series of spectacular video clips, taken by the FPV drone’s own forward-facing video camera, showing dramatic hits on the wings to rupture the fuel tanks and ignite the jet fuel, resulting in powerful explosions. The SBU claimed the destruction of more than 40 Russian aircraft, including A-50s, Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s. On June 2, the SBU head, Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, reiterated this claim, saying that as many as 41 Russian aircraft took hits, this figure comprising of A-50s, Tu-160s, Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s.

Although satellite images and drone video footage can be easily found on the internet, this evidence does not support these apparently over-inflated claims, showing only 13 destroyed or heavily damaged aircraft at Belaya and Olenya bases. No doubt, this is a spectacular SBU achievement as the attacks have inflicted more than painful losses to the Russian military, knocking out in a single strike about seven per cent of its dual nuclear/conventional strategic bombers, serving with Russia’s nuclear deterrence force. The Olenya-based Bear-Hs are also known for taking part in the air strikes against Ukraine, unleashing Kh-101 (AS-23 Kodiak) conventionally tipped long-range cruise missiles. As of early 2025, the Long-Range Aviation (LRA) branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces operated a fleet of some 60 Tu-95MS’ (between 20 and 30 maintained in airworthy status at any given moment) in addition to up to 17 Tu-160s (half of these believed to be maintained airworthy) and some 110 Tu-22M3s (the active fleet, however, is numbering between 40 and 45 aircraft). 

The Ukrainian large-scale attack, organized by the resourceful SBU and matching the known sabotage achievements of Israel’s Mossad (known as the most inventive and effective intelligence service in the world), is the strongest single blow to Russian air power. Carried out as Operation Spider Web, in preparation since early 2024, as many as five Russian airbases housing strategic and long-range bombers were targeted in the clandestine sabotage operation using truck-launched, explosive-laden, low-cost quadcopter drones.

The complex operation, logistically prepared in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk by SBU agents, saw the smuggling of more than 100 drones, which were then installed on makeshift launch pads under the roofs of what were presented as mobile wooden houses with removable tops, transported by platform trucks. Each wooden house had a well-concealed launch pad for more than 20 drones. Tops were removed remotely and the drones were activated by commands issued, most likely through a mobile communication network, with the ground control stations most likely situated in the SBU headquarters in Ukraine.   

In fact, only two out of five targeted by SBU Russian air bases suffered from serious damage. Olenya in Murmansk region was attacked with drones taking-off from a truck parked at a nearby gas station, taking out no fewer than four Tu-95MS bombers and one An-12 transport parked on open apron, apparently without any resistance from the base’s local air defenses.

 Belaya in Irkutsk, situated in the hearth of the remote Siberia region, was another successfully attacked LRA base, where three Tu-95MS’ were destroyed and one damaged in addition to the destruction of no fewer than four Tu-22M3s, using exactly the same method and drones, launched from a truck parked at a gas station near the base’s perimeter fence. Video footage showed a group of brave civilians at the gas station who climbed onto the wooden container house in an attempt to stop drones from taking off. The civilians managed to prevent strikes on an unknown number of bombers.

A new video, released for the first time on June 2 showed the immediate aftermath of the attack at Belaya, with a panorama of burning wreckages and surprisingly a flight line of seven Tu-160 Blackjack supersonic jet bombers, the most modern and capable Russian combat jet, carrying strategic nuclear weapons, these apparently remained untargeted and intact. The SBU have suggested that the 'targeting AI' for the drones was 'trained' at the Poltava Air Museum, which holds copies of the TU-22, TU-95/142, and TU-160 in its collection It's therefore possible that there was insufficient time to train the AI for all potential targets, or that even the SBU considered hitting TU-160s as too escalatory. For whatever reason, not losing TU-160s was the only piece of luck that Russia had on the day.  The loss of one or more of the almost totemic TU-160 would have been an enormous personal humiliation to President Putin, who last year made a very public flight in one.  Reports suggest Russia only has 17 TU-160s, they could have lost nearly half in a matter of minutes.

Ukrainka, another strategic bomber base in Russia’s far eastern territories, housing Tu-95MS bombers avoided a drone attack as the truck, carrying the wooden house with drones, caught fire due to an unknown reason and when inspected by locals the wooden house exploded.

SBU video footage, four minutes long, released in June, showed many more drone strikes, including the entire operations at Belaya and Olennya, plus previously unreleased video from two more bases, conducted similarly by using truck-launched drones. The first of these is Diaghilevo near Ryazan, to the southeast of Moscow (known as the Russian Long-Range Aviation Training Center, also used for strikes against Ukraine). The second was Severniy near the city of Ivanovo, to the northeast of Moscow (home of the Russian A-50 AEW&C fleet). The Diaghilevo attack, however, proved to have almost no result, as drones hit non-operational Tu-22M3 airframes, which failed to explode. This was most likely due to empty fuel tanks. The same result was achieved at Severniy, where video footage showed drones engaging a couple of long-grounded A-50 AEW&C control aircraft (apparently used as spare part donors), hitting their radomes.  

This is not the first time a drone strike is being targeted against Russian bombers. Another small-scale operation, again undertaken by SBU agents using a FPV drone, was undertaken at the Soltsy air base, which saw a Tu-22M3 bomber completely destroyed in August 2023.

Ultimately, it can be said that was a serious, but not fatal, blow to the combat potential of Russia’s’ strategic aviation fleet. It will have no real impact on the country’s ability to continue mounting heavy strikes on strategic targets across Ukraine. On the other hand, however, the Drone Day will be remembered as the day when Ukraine’s inventive spy agency managed to penetrate heavy-guarded territory to inflict a stinging piece of reputational damage onto the Kremlin.   

Furthermore, this novel, far-reaching and rather flexible method of use of small-size OWE drones demonstrated by SBU is raising serious questions what is next and where the priority of protection against sabotage as to be placed - onto strategic military installations, ammunition warehouses, defense industry plants, government residences or administrative buildings.