As we sped alongside the freeway from Odesa to Kyiv on Sunday, one of many Ukrainian passengers within the automotive instantly let loose a shout.
The automotive swerved right into a roadside gasoline station the place individuals had been glued to their cell telephones.
Snarky memes began pouring onto the messaging app Telegram, ridiculing Vladimir Putin and his hapless air protection system.
“The Russian army is now the second best in Europe,” crowed one widespread put up. One other aimed its dart at President Donald Trump, proclaiming, “You said we had no cards, but we had the wild card.”
This daring act of sabotage, 18 months within the planning, quantities to way over a desperately wanted morale increase for Ukrainians following Trump’s efficient defection to Putin’s facet.
Operation Spiderweb not solely illustrated the brilliance of Ukraine’s technological expertise and the failings of the Russian army, nevertheless it put the deceive Trump’s declare that Russia is the battle’s inevitable winner (no surprise the president, as of Tuesday, has barely talked about this beautiful assault, and claimed he knew nothing beforehand).
The daring maneuver additionally demonstrates to the world how using drones and unmanned programs — with Ukraine now the worldwide chief by way of its innovation and battlefield use — have turn out to be the brand new face of recent battle.
A yr in the past, on my final go to to Ukraine, there was a scarcity of artillery shells on the japanese entrance line after the GOP-led U.S. Congress lower army help for six months. I watched decided troopers vogue a couple of home made shells utilizing 3D printers and scrap steel stuffed with salvaged and melted explosive materials pried from tank mines.
Necessity’s youngster
Such models turned, in desperation, to cheap first-person view (FPV) drones for surveillance and assault.
Beginning with widespread, low cost Chinese language Mavic drones, of the sort that People use for weddings and on trip, frontline models ordered drones or elements on Amazon, or had been gifted them by buddies, household, and civilian volunteer organizations.
One yr later, 80% of frontline “kills” of Russian troopers and materials come from drones carrying various quantities of explosives and touring more and more lengthy distances.
Nevertheless, Ukrainians stay woefully in need of air defenses that may repel cruise and ballistic missiles, particularly given the failure of the U.S. and Europe to ship the U.S. Patriot programs and interceptors that had been promised.
Ukraine begged former President Joe Biden and German leaders to no avail to offer lengthy vary missiles that might hit distant Russian aerodromes and eradicate strategic bombers on the supply.
Exploiting this vulnerability, Putin has elevated the variety of strategic missiles aimed toward civilian infrastructure, particularly power programs.
That’s what makes Operation Spiderweb such a panoramic mixture of chutzpah and experience.
Utilizing 117 FPV drones, costing round $2,000 every, the Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims to have worn out $7 billion value of strategic plane — a surprising cost-to-benefit ratio. Furthermore, Russia not has the know-how to make such planes, to allow them to’t get replaced.
“Not everything can be revealed, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy famous.
Russian morale additionally took successful, as army bloggers bemoaned the careless lack of safety and underestimation of Ukrainian secret providers.
Though all particulars usually are not but confirmed, the SBU mentioned the drones had been smuggled into Russia, then hidden within the roofs of mannequin trip cabins, which had been trucked on platforms to areas close to the air bases by unwitting Russian drivers.
Then the roofs of the holiday properties retracted concurrently by the 4 main air bases, releasing drones programmed to hit the gasoline tanks of the planes, making certain they might explode. The batteries of the drones had been saved charged by placing photo voltaic panels on the roofs of the cabins, simply above the hidden drones.
This sabotage assault can’t be thought-about a complete sport changer because the drones by no means might have traveled 1000’s of miles inside Russia with out the good truck scheme.
Harsh reality uncovered
Nevertheless, as I used to be advised by Sergii Kuzan, head of the Ukrainian Heart for Safety and Cooperation, Operation Spiderweb does replicate a “revolution in warfare because drones can replace the function of every type of equipment we now use for war, on sea, air and land.” And, they are often manufactured for a fraction of the price of the weapon and manpower they’ll destroy.
Furthermore, Operation Spiderweb, performed the day earlier than the second spherical of Trump-driven “peace talks” between Russian and Ukrainian groups, has uncovered the tough reality about making an attempt to woo Moscow towards peace by providing concession after concession up entrance.
Russia has not budged one inch from its demand for whole capitulation and subservience from Kyiv, and has solely elevated its missile barrage on Ukrainian cities. But Trump refuses to hold out his risk to impose new sanctions if Putin rejects a ceasefire.
Ukraine demonstrated clearly on Sunday that it gained’t play the Kremlin’s cynical sport. It should proceed to indicate up for the ineffective talks to appease Trump, however it would stress Moscow although Trump doesn’t.
The day after Spiderweb, the SBU did a follow-up, conducting a 3rd explosive hit on Putin’s favourite Kerch Bridge, which hyperlinks Crimea to the Russian mainland, hitting underwater helps.
These assaults landed extreme psychological blows to Russia that Putin gained’t be capable of defend the general public from. And as I noticed firsthand, Operation Spiderweb will bolster the desire of hard-pressed Ukrainians to proceed their existential struggle.
Maria Savianenko, one of many Ukrainians touring with me on Sunday, gave voice to these emotions:
“Drones have changed the war, changed everything. A country without ships, drove out the Russian fleet with drones, and without planes, we destroyed their planes. We can’t stop now because it is the only chance in our history to beat the Russians back.”
When she attended the memorial service Wednesday for a good friend killed in direct fight on the entrance, she mentioned that she would take into account that each airplane destroyed by Operation Spiderweb was “done in his name.”
Trudy Rubin is a columnist for the The Philadelphia Inquirer. ©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Tribune Content material Company.
