Indian Council of World Affairs

In the early hours of 1 June 2025, Ukraine executed Operation Spider’s Web, marking a pivotal shift in the Russia-Ukraine war. This operation has redefined asymmetric warfare by demonstrating that low-cost, AI-enabled drones can deliver disproportionate strategic returns.

Introduction

The Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing since 2022, has passed through multiple phases – from the initial territorial battles to the use of long-range missiles. Now in its fourth year, the conflict has entered a new phase – defined by drones, data and decentralized innovation. While the use of drones in the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not new, Operation Spider’s Web stands out because it involved the use of hundreds of autonomous and coordinated drones that penetrated deep inside Russian territory. This paper explores the implications of Operation Spider’s Web and how it reflects the evolving nature of warfare in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Operation Spider’s Web and Russian Response

Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web targeted four Russian air bases – Belaya, Dyagilevo, Ivanovo and Olenya. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the drones successfully struck 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers such as the Tu-95, Tu-160, and Tu-22, as well as airborne early warning and refuelling assets like the A-50 and Il-78. The estimated financial impact exceeded $7 billion.[i]

Ukraine employed 117 First-Person View (FPV) drones costing under $5000 each with mobile networks to coordinate and execute the attack. This helped in bypassing the military satellite networks and traditional jamming mechanisms. Artificial intelligence made the drones capable of carrying out the attacks even with GPS interference. Additionally, unlike conventional warfare involving attacks across borders, this operation camouflaged the drone launch platforms as 'goods-carrying' trucks to covertly enter Russian territory and then strike the targets. These launch vehicles were stationed within one to seven kilometres of their targets. This mode of delivery nullified the utility of Russia's deep-layered air defence and surveillance grid, which is capable of detecting long-range aerial threats rather than camouflaged ground-based platforms. Later, the trucks were self-destructed to ensure minimal traces were left behind. 

Just days before the new round of peace talks in Istanbul, the operation timing was a standpoint of Ukraine's coercive diplomacy. In retaliation, Russia conducted overnight strikes on 5-6 June, deploying drones, ballistic and cruise missiles in Ukraine—including Kyiv, Lviv, Kremenchuk, Chernihiv and Ternopil. Since then, both sides have carried out strikes and counterstrikes, with the most recent being Russia’s large aerial strike on Kyiv on  28-29 June.

According to Ukraine, Moscow launched over 500 aerial weapons during the strike, including drones, missiles, among others, making it the most wide scale aerial  attack from Russia so far.[ii]

Operation Spider’s Web and the increased scale of drone attacks from both sides signals  a pivotal shift in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. By combining human intelligence with artificial intelligence in a cost-effective and coordinated manner, Ukraine in particular, has demonstrated that drone warfare is no longer the domain of only the advanced militaries. This democratisation of technology enables smaller nations and non-state actors to challenge traditional power asymmetries. Ukraine’s focus on indigenisation and civil-military collaboration is central to this transformation, which has reshaped the dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Indigenisation and Collaboration

Since the onset of Ukraine crisis in 2014, both Russia and Ukraine have been using commercial drones, such as Chinese DJI models, for surveillance and artillery spotting. However, after Russia’s full-scale offensive in February 2022, Ukraine expanded its drone use to include Turkish Bayraktar TB2s and U.S.-supplied loitering munitions like the Switchblade. Russia, meanwhile, utilised large numbers of Iranian-made Shahed drones, later assembling them domestically using imported Chinese parts.[iii] A conscious change in Ukrainian strategic planning was noticed over the various phases of the conflict. The decision to reduce reliance on Chinese and US-supplied drones is due to growing export restrictions, supply chain disruptions, and the over-dependence on foreign support.

Drones used in the operation were funded through crowdfunding campaigns like United24's Army of Drones, where civilians and the diaspora donated millions to support frontline technology. This grassroots involvement approach helped Ukraine scale production rapidly while reducing its dependence on European countries. Complementing this was Brave1—a government-backed tech platform launched in 2023 to coordinate defence startups.[iv] This collaboration between civilian innovation and military power will improve the scope for public-private partnership in drone warfare.

Conclusion

The operation highlights that drone warfare has evolved as a critical instrument in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine can now achieve a strategic offensive capability using minimal resources. The well-thought-out civil-military collaboration has helped Ukraine scale operations independently and bypass Russia’s layered air-defence systems. The war has expanded well beyond the frontlines. It will likely move further into civilian and military partnerships, targeting logistics, energy and communications networks. This will intensify the hybrid character of the conflict. 

Operation Spider’s Web has transformed the Russia-Ukraine war into a live theatre for next-generation conflict, defined by speed, adaptability, and decentralised technology. Ukraine’s ability to disrupt Russian strategic depth using indigenised, AI-powered drones reflects a broader trend: deterrence is no longer based on scale, but on agility and innovation.

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*Vidisha Sharma, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) 
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal


Endnotes

i Protz, A. (2025, June 4). Ukraine’s Security Service posts video of Operation Spider’s Web, showing 41 Russian aircraft being hit. Ukrainska Pravda.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/4/7515627/

ii Kassam, A. (2025, June 30). Russia has launched biggest air attack of three-year war on Ukraine, Kyiv says. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/29/russia-launches-biggest-air-attack-of-the-three-year-war-on-ukraine-kyiv-says?

iii How drone warfare works. (2025, June 29). The Week. https://theweek.com/defence/how-drone-warfare-works?

iv Ukraine launches Brave1 market for defence innovation. (2025, April 28). Digital State UA. Ukraine officially launches Brave1 Market - the first online defense technology marketplace for the Ukrainian army