In a daring and covert military operation, Ukraine has reportedly inflicted massive damage on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, with Russian media naming a former Ukrainian DJ as the key figure behind the operation.
The strike—dubbed “Operation Spiderweb”—targeted four airfields deep within Russian territory on Sunday, allegedly destroying or damaging 41 warplanes worth over $7 billion, according to Ukrainian claims.
Russian sources identified Artem Timofeev, a 37-year-old ex-DJ from Ukraine, as the alleged mastermind. Reports suggest he owned the trucks used to transport concealed drones to the airbases. Drivers involved claimed they were instructed by someone named “Artem” and were told the cargo was prefabricated wooden homes. One of the trucks used in the attack was registered under Timofeev’s name, and a flat in Chelyabinsk linked to him and his wife, Ekaterina Timofeeva, has also drawn investigators’ attention.
Satellite imagery released by Planet Labs confirms extensive damage at the Dyagilevo Airbase, east of Moscow. Russian bloggers claim Timofeev was spotted in the Irkutsk region just a week before the strikes.
The operation, reportedly planned over 18 months, began with a directive from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to intelligence agencies in late 2023. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service secretly smuggled drone parts into Russia and assembled them at an undisclosed location. Drones were hidden in the roofs of wooden containers aboard trucks, which parked near targeted airbases. At a coordinated moment, the containers’ roofs slid open remotely, releasing a wave of drones in an attack reminiscent of the Trojan Horse strategy.
Ukraine claims to have used low-cost drones—estimated at just $2,000 each—to severely impair some of Russia’s most expensive military assets. Following the strikes, Zelensky announced that all operatives involved had successfully left Russian territory.
This marks one of the boldest and most effective sabotage missions of the war, showcasing Ukraine’s growing capabilities in asymmetric warfare far behind enemy lines.
