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World Leaders Praise Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web as Model of Modern Self-Defense

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Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko
Dariia Mykhailenko
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World Leaders Praise Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web as Model of Modern Self-Defense
A Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 military aircrafts fly over the Kremlin and Red Square in downtown Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, May 9, 2020. (Source: Getty Images)

International leaders have praised Ukraine's June 1 drone strike targeting multiple Russian strategic airbases, describing the operation Spider Web as a sophisticated and legitimate act of self-defense. The coordinated strike, led by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), inflicted significant damage on key Russian military assets and marked a major escalation in Kyiv’s asymmetric warfare strategy.

The operation, which struck airfields in Olenya, Belaya, Dyagilevo, and Ivanovo, reportedly damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including long-range bombers and airborne early warning systems. According to SBU sources cited by Hromadske, the mission was planned over 18 months and executed under the direct supervision of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk.

At this time, world leaders have praised Ukraine’s June 1 drone strike on Russian airbases, calling it a bold and effective act of self-defense.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote: “Congratulations to Ukraine on the superb strike against Russia’s air power. The Ukrainians are indomitable and technologically brilliant. They do their best to hit military targets while Putin indiscriminately slaughters civilians.”

Swedish politician and former Prime Minister Carl Bildt remarked on X: “Not even the 007 movies managed to come up with something like this,” highlighting the unprecedented nature of the operation.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking on June 2, told Reuters that Ukraine's actions demonstrate its ability to defend itself effectively: “I think they have the right to defend themselves and sometimes it includes pushing back — so it seems that it has been successful.”

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis told CNN the strike was “a remarkable military feat,” describing the wooden-truck tactic as “kind of a Trojan horse.” He emphasized the innovation behind the operation, which he said demonstrated Ukraine’s growing edge in unmanned technology, intelligence, and tactical planning.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal compared Spider Web to the operation that killed an international terrorist Osama bin Laden, he said in an interview with Politico.

Those strikes, he said, challenge “a false narrative that Ukraine is losing the war” and could help shift momentum in Washington toward expanding support for Ukraine.

“They can strike air bases 4,000 miles away from Ukraine; They can hit anywhere,” he added.

Preparation for the operation took over 18 months. The mission was supervised by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and executed under the leadership of SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk.

As part of the logistics plan, the SBU first infiltrated Russian territory with FPV drones, later followed by wooden structures mounted on trucks. The drones were concealed beneath these mobile units and remotely activated at the onset of the operation.

All Ukrainian operatives involved in the mission have safely returned. The SBU has dismissed anticipated Russian claims of detaining “operation participants” as staged propaganda aimed at a domestic audience.

Earlier, Russia claimed its air defenses intercepted 162 drones overnight during what officials described as a large-scale aerial attack targeting eight regions and temporarily occupied Crimea.

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