Zelensky looks back on his spectacular drone attack on Russian territory

A few days after Ukraine’s spectacular victory in the military operation Operation Spiderweb, which targeted Russian military aircraft at bases across Russia, the Ukrainian president has returned to the origins of the offensive.

In an interview with journalists following the attack, relayed by the Kyiv Independent, he asserted that the operation, which had been planned for over a year, would simply not have taken place if Vladimir Putin had agreed to a ceasefire during the various peace talks.

Ukraine’s surprise attack on June 1, carried out using drones boldly concealed inside cabin roofs that could be opened remotely, then delivered aboard trucks parked near their targets across Russia, took the world by surprise.

Even Donald Trump, the President of the United States, had not been informed of this operation, which had been planned in secret for over a year by the Ukrainian armed forces, while Zelensky claimed that the attack was avoidable in his opinion: “If there had been a ceasefire, would the operation have taken place? No.”

According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia lost 41 military aircraft, including Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s, key bombers for launching long-range cruise missiles used against Ukraine, during Operation Spiderweb.

The damage inflicted on Russia is estimated at over 7 billion dollars, a major loss and, according to several experts, largely irreplaceable, as the destroyed bombers are among the rarest and most expensive strategic aircraft in the Russian arsenal.

After several days of silence, Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that he had had a talk of over an hour with the Russian president. According to him, they discussed the Ukrainian-led attack on aircraft stationed at Russian bases, as well as the multiple strikes carried out on both sides.