Ukraine’s Historic Strike Destroys 34% of Russia’s Bombers – $7B Blow to Russia

On Saturday evening (June 1, 2025), Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed that a large-scale attack on Russian military airbases inflicted damages worth $7 billion to Russia’s strategic aviation. “Seven billion US dollars: This is the estimated cost for the hostile strategic aviation, which was hit after the special operation ‘Spider Web’ carried out by the SBU,” the Ukrainian security services wrote on Telegram. The attacks targeted several Russian airbases, some located thousands of kilometers from the front lines, stretching as far as Siberia. According to Ukrainian intelligence sources, around 41 aircraft used to bomb Ukrainian cities were damaged, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers and A-50 radar planes. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that several aircraft caught fire following drone attacks at airfields in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, in Russia’s Arctic and eastern Siberia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the operation, describing it as an “absolutely brilliant result” achieved solely by Ukraine. He noted that the planning took over a year and a half and called it their most long-range operation. Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy stated that 117 drones were used in the assault against Russian bases, emphasizing that Russia suffered significant and justified losses.