Global Conflict Reporting

Category: Ukraine

  • Operation Spiderweb

    By. Scott Jackson

    06/02/2025

    On Sunday, we reported on a major covert drone attack carried out by Ukraine on Russian airbases across the country destroying a not insignificant percentage of Russia’s long range strategic bomber fleet. This attack stunned Moscow as well as western leaders who by all accounts weren’t made aware of the strike beforehand.

    ‘Operation Spiderweb’, the name given to the operation was carried out using semi trucks that were loaded up with a reported 117 drones total. The drones were used to target 4-5 different airbases spread all over Russia with the furthest being in Siberia.

    The trailers on the semi trucks were each disguised as sheds being hauled. When parked near their targets the roof was activated remotely and would slid off allowing the drones inside to be piloted remotely into their targets. Ukraine has done mass drone attacks before, often even but drones launched from Ukraine have to travel much further and are at a greater danger of being shot down by Russian Air Defense.

    Image released by Ukrainian security services shows the back of the trucks which were used as makeshift drone carriers.

    The drivers of the trucks were all Russian truck drivers contracted out by one (or several guys) using the name Artyom. They were contacted with delivery instructions and all had similar stories about getting to their drop off point and then the roof sliding off and drones started flying out. Russia is still investigating.

    Let’s go over each of the airbases and look at the numbers for Russian loses as best we can. These numbers are all based on satellite images received as well as open source information. Take the following breakdown for what it’s worth, an analysis done with less than an optimal amount of data.

    Before we jump in I’ll link to some videos one from the day of the attack and the other released today which has some more data we can use and is almost 5 minutes long.

    Here is the first.

    Video shows the first footage most were shown of Operation Spider Web.
    Belaya Airbase. Probably the hardest hit of the airbases.
    This video was released the day after the attack and shows strikes from all of the bases. A lot of the analysis I’m doing here will include things seen in this video.

    Olenya Air Base

    Olenya Air Base directly after the drone attack.

    On the Kola Peninsula, Air Base Olenya is an important part of Russia’s military operations. The bases aircraft are mostly made up with a collection of Sukhoi Su-24 and Tupolev Tu-95s.

    Most recent Google Earth Image from Olenya Air Base.
    Most recent imagery shows a line of TU-95
    This image is from Olenya but more recent than the Google earth inages.

    After Ukraine’s attack images look a bit different.

    The below shows the wider view in the aftermath of the attack .

    After looking at this data as well as the video clips of the attacks it’s believed that at least 4 Russian Tu-95 bombers were destroyed at Olenya air base along with one An-12 transport aircraft.

    Online sleuths have pointed out that in the video released after the attack you can see that at least one of the Tu-95’s had already been loaded with Kh-101 cruise missile. These bombers among others have been responsible for the recent missile wave attacks launched at Ukraine and her city’s. Some of the largest missile and drone attacks of the war have been carried out in the past 2 weeks.

    Alleged Russian cruise missile spotted during operation spiderweb.

    Ivanovo

    Ivanovo Severny Air base houses the 144th AEW&C regiment as well as rhe 610th Combat Use and Retraining Center for Military Transport Aviation.. The Ivanovo airbase houses a number of retired A-50 (and possibly active A-50’s) as well as transport aircraft like the Il-76. The video shows two A-50s being struck however I don’t know if these are the operational A-50s. Now we know Ukraine watched and planned this mission for a year and a half. I would like to think they wouldn’t waste the time attacking an airfield that holds nothing except some old parts planes. They had great Intel for this operation so it’s possible but I wanted to at least mention the uncertainty.

    Two images from a drone on the day of the strikes. These planes are covered in tires and other things used to break up line of sight for drones. Russia often uses tires for this purpose.

    Dyagilevo air base

    Of all the airbases. This is the one I have the least data for. I’ve yet to see satellite imagery from after the attack so I’ll just go by the video. It seems that a number of Tu-22s were targeted. At least 4 possibly more however I did notice that some of the planes shown in the video were struck multiple times. Will update this if I can get more info.

    Belaya

    Belaya air base in theUsolsky District, Irkutsk Oblast was hit pretty aggressively compared to the others.

    The base houses two types of Russias strategic bombers with the 200th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Brest Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment using Tu-22M3, the 444th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment with the Tu-22M3 and the 181st Independent Composite Aviation Squadron with the Antinov A-12 and A-30. Present at the base during the attack were also Tu-95s.

    This is the before shot of the airbase. Included fkr comparison with the after shot. This base has several decoy parking slots used to fool drones and satellites. That being said the paint for the decoys is very old so it’s fairly easy to spot. Sat images done by Planet labs.
    The shot after Operation Spiderweb. Sat images done by Planet labs.

    If my math is correct this airbase lost at least a solid 4 Tu-22’s, those are the ones that I can see, from the images, burned up and are completely destroyed. The video m of the attack shows multiple other Tu-22s that were targeted making me think that there is a good chance that some were damaged and need repaired or are not recoverable but we just can’t see it. So for now I’m sticking with 4 but it has an asterisk.

    I’m not counting this one, which is an obvious decoy. The fake wreckage might have fooled me but I’ve seen this base before. Pictures of this spot exist prior to the operation.

    The image with the decoy shows 2 of the 3 completely destroyed Tu-95’s. There is one more further down the runway which can be seen in the imagery and is shown to be struck in the video.

    Afterthoughts

    This attack will go down as one of Ukraines highlight moments in the war, showing a weakness in Russia’s current method of parking their airplanes.

    The line of B-52 Stratofortress at Anderson AFB.

    However. While my own country of the U.S. does have Hardened Aircraft Shelters, they are usually only found being used on the frontlines areas like the Middle East or in The Pacific. Protecting those w deployed assets is extremely important but it’s becoming increasingly glaring that some day, one of the US’s enemy’s could stage a similar attack, knocking out multiple squadrons of long range bombers before anybody even knows what’s happening. China on the other hand has been ahead of the game in this field building vast hundreds of these shelters for their air fleets. China who also happens to be in the forefront of drone warfare and combat tech. Could it be thag China sees a threat because they know the possibility’s of what rcan be accomplished with drones?

    The opening of a Hardened aircraft shelter located in South Korea. 
    I’d like to thank everybody who provided imagery for this, especially planet labs who allows me to be on their mailing list to receive these images when something big happens. That was a nice surprise after I started trying to find sat images to find them in my email. 

    -Scott

  • Ukrainian forces carry out massive drone attack on Russia. Target long range bombers. (Videos)

    By. Scott Jackson

    06/01/2925

    Ukrainian forces have carried a large-scale and coordinated attacks days ahead of the peace talks set to start in Istanbul on Monday. Using drones launched from inside Russias borders to strike at Russian fleet of bombers, allegedly destroying at least 41 Russian air assets. These loses include TU-95 long range strategic bombers used in the war to long range cruise missile across the border, and reportedly, at least one A-50 mainstay.

    According to the Ukrainian security forces the operation was known as “Operation Spiderweb” it involved striking at multiple Russian sites (mainly airfields) using drones deployed from the back of semi trucks and inside houses that were nearby. The drones were reported at Belaya, Dyagilevo, Olenya, and Ivanovo airbases. The total loses are still being assessed.

    Russian mil-bloggers were shocked at the failure of Russian air defense with one (Fighterbomber, believed to be Capt. Ilya Tumanov of the Russian Army) saying “ “Today will later be called a black day for Russian long-range aviation… and the day is not over yet.”

    The deputy head of Ukraine’s Presidents office Iryna Vereshchuk said that the Ukrainian security services had” set a new bar of skill in conducting large-scale combat operations on enemy territory.”she continued that the operation was “not a knockout, but a serious knockdown for the enemy.”

    This attack comes a little under a week after days of long range missile and drone attacks aimed at Kyiv. Some of the largest of the war. It’s unclear how Russia will respond.

    More on this later.

  • Poland/Russia relations worsen over Russian sabotage. Hybrid warfare.

    By. Scott Jackson

    05/29/2025

    Last year Warsaw’s largest shopping center, Marywilska 44, was burned down leading to a year long investigation that was only concluded earlier this month. That investigation, led to the arrest of several Polish nationals acting as Russian operatives and connected to the Russian state and the GRU, Russia’s secret police.

    “We already know for sure that the large fire on Marywilska was the result of arson ordered by Russian services. The actions were coordinated by a person staying in Russia. Some of the perpetrators are already in custody, the rest have been identified and are being sought,”

    Polish Prine Minister Donold Tusk writing on Twitter.

    This case of arson was one of several terrorist acts linked to Russia, all being carried out in the weeks leading up the Marywilska 44 fire. Arson is the focus of this article however attempted cyberattacks are another regular occurrence in countries that have shown support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. In early 2024 shipments of pillows, cosmetics and sex toys were filled with explosions being detonated in British Birmingham, Leipzig in Germany and in Warsaw, Poland. All of this is apart of an ongoing hybrid warfare campaign being waged by Russia on Poland (among others) as backlash for their support to Ukraine.

    Back to the shopping center Investigators in Poland are working with those in Lithuania for a similar series of sabotage activities believed to be linked to Russia according to a statement by Justice Minister Adam Bodnar and Interior Minister. Tomasz Siemoniak. Since some of the perpetrators in Poland had been arrested Polish authorities believe they have enough evidence to directly tie Russia to these crimes and Bodnar and Siemoniak continued in their statement: “Based on the evidence collected, we know that the fire was the result of arson committed at the request of the Russian security services. We have in-depth knowledge about the course of the arson, as well as the way in which the perpetrators documented it.”

    The immediate response to these attacks has been the closure of the Russian Consulate in Warsaw Poland however its still believed Russian operatives are carrying out other operations in Poland with several abductions being linked and a string of arson’s. Another consulate had been closed previously by Poland citing its link to a cyberattack, acts of sabotage, as well as other intelligence activities.

    This highlights Russia’s willingness and want to wage a sort of hybrid war, using terrorism and other more covert methods in an aim to punish those it views as hostile to Russia. In October of 2024 MI5 Director General Ken McCallum had this to say of the GRU was “…on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets”. A Romanian man was attested in 2024 in Birmingham after settling fire to a DHL warehouse on behalf of Russia.

    The Baltic nations have also had to deal with this extensively as Russian ships regularly attack underwater cables by dragging their anchors over them. Severing the lines. NATO warships often follow Russian linked ships now, even going so far as to have submarines tail these cargo ships.

    Actions like the one here have led to a wave of diplomatic closures as European/western countries,one by one, board up embassy’s and ban Russian diplomats from entry.

    Further reading-

    On this topic.

    https://jamestown.org/program/poland-responds-to-russian-sabotage-campaign-with-consulate-closure/

    On hybrid warfare in general.

    https://globalsecurityreview.com/hybrid-and-non-linear-warfare-systematically-erases-the-divide-between-war-peace/

  • Ukraine’s new Magura V7 surface drone shoots down two Russian jets over the Black Sea.

    By. Scott Jackson

    05/05/2025

    Using American supplied AIM-9 sidewinder air-to-air missiles, Ukrainian forces have shot down two Russian fighter jets sent to intercept the drones as they patrolled the Black Sea.

    First image released of Ukrainian Magura V7 Surface Drone.

    On May 2nd, early reports said that a Ukrainian Magura V5 drone had shot down a Russian SU-30 Flanker over the Black Sea however statements from LT. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Directorate (HUR), as well as president Zelenskyy show that it was in face the largest Magura V7. The V7 is a brand new version not seen before by the public. It is very similar to the former versions that were used to ram Russian ships while packed with explosion. Essentially from how it was explained the V7 is the air defense version of the Magura line of drones.

    While it was initially reported that the V7 carried out the task of shooting down the Russian flankers with a modified R-73 (AA-11 Archer) we now know that American AIM-9 has been installed on ukra ian drones since around January according to a statement made by Budanov.

    “We use a couple of models [of missiles] on our Magura-7, but the best results [come from] the AIM-9,” he noted

    Video shows the shoot down of one Russian SU-30 Flanker over the Black Sea.

    Ukraine has made the Russian air superiority over the Black Sea come come into question as more than these two fighter jets have been downed. Last year Ukraine used an R-73 fired from a USV to down an Mi-8 Hip.

    The AIM 9M sidewinder is similar to the R-73 previously used with some added capabilities. The Sidewinder has defense against infrared countermeasures , and a reduced-smoke rocket motor making it harder to spot and defend against. Usually used as a close range weapon on fighter jets it’s find new uses in the war in Ukraine.

    The U.S. as well as other allies have sent Ukraine an undisclosed amount of AIM-9M sidewinders that are used in several systems, including a SAM system that uses Sidewinders as well as Ukrainian F-16s. 

    Thank you for reading. I hope you get as much out of what I’m doing here as I get out of making these reports. If so I would invite you to join my Patreon. Doing that would help me more than I can describe. I’ve kept it as cheap as possible to become a member. It’s only a $1.00. However a dollar from even half of my Facebook followers would be a life changing amount of money for me and for this page.

    Thank you for all the support over the years and as we continue to grow and evolve.  

    -Scott

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  • United States and Ukraine to sign a mineral deal today

    United States and Ukraine to sign a mineral deal today

    By. Scott Jackson

    04/20/2025

    Today after many weeks and several false starts the U.S. and Ukraine have signed a mineral deal giving the US access to Ukraines large swath of natural resources as well as acting as an implied security guarantee for Ukraine. While the U.S. has provided support through the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were times when that support was seen as lacking or even pulled completely this deal should see the U.S. as having a stake in the future of Ukraine. This comes as US president Donald Trump attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

    A map showing the vast mineral deposits in Ukraine.

    “this partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilize American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

    From Ukraine

    “Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country.”

    Ukraine’s Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko

    This deal gives the US some stake in Ukraine’s future which will likely translate into other trades and deals down the road.

    While this deal doesn’t stop the way it does cause a problem for Russia, as does anything that strengthens the ties between US and Ukraine.

    This deal was announced earlier this year but was put on hold after a blow up in the Oval Office the two presidents, Donald Trump and Ukraine President Zelenskyy, got into an argument over the war essentially boiled down to Ukraine wanted a security guarantee and the U.S. didn’t want to commit under those terms. There is more but it’s been talked about enough elsewhere.

    This is a developing story and will be updated later. 

    Thank you all for reading. Your continued support paramount to the success of this page. This all might be wrote by me but I consider it my gift to all of you. If you would like to further support independent reporting you can sign up for my $1.00 Patreon page where I will be adding podcast and e books in the future. A single donation button is also included through the buy me a coffee link. Both are appreciated. 

    I have many goals for the future of GCR and through the support and donations I have received we have already managed to build a website as well as purchase improved tools that make my job a little easier. 

    -Scott
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  • Russian Strategic Bomber base struck by Ukraine drone strike.

    Russian Strategic Bomber base struck by Ukraine drone strike.

    By.Scott Jackson

    March 22nd ,2025

    Thursday March 20th, Ukraine struck one of Russia’s most important airbases, housing Russia strategic bombers, with drones. The attack triggered a huge explosion that was caught on geolocated video.

    Engels 2 Airbase

    Engles-2 is located 450 miles from the Ukrainian frontline. While Russia or Ukraine both didn’t report directly what was used to carry out the attack, Russian forces in the area did report shooting down 54 drones during the time the base came under attack.

    Russia’s Engels-2 airbase is one of its most important airbases as it is the one airbase operating Russia’s Tupolev TU-160’s (NATO reporting name Blackjack). The TU-160 is a supersonic, variable swept-wing, nuclear capable long-range, strategic bomber that has been during the Russia/Ukraine war to launch long range cruise missile into Ukraine.

    The TU-160. While often compared to the Rockwell B-1 ”Lancer” the TU-160 is significantly larger and faster while the B-1 has a larger payload. The TU-160 was designed as a long range cruise missile platform, the Bone on the other hand excels at penetrating highly contested airspace’s with its speed and ability to use terrain masking by flying very low.

    While the bombers would be a nice target it appears the main focus of the attack was on something even more critical to the war. Looking at the satellite images, released in the days since the attack, show that all of the TU-160’s or TU-95’s were undamaged after the attack. The drones mostly targeted an area of the airbase being used to store munitions. The base, along with regular munitions, is used for the maintaining and storage of the Russian KH-101 Cruise missile although it’s not verified if any of them were damaged or destroyed.

    Overview of the whole airfield. Affected area is off by itself in the top right under the Maxar logo.
    The before shot of an ammunition storage area of the airbase. These ammo storage areas, generally are fairly easy to spot as it will usually be an underground building or a regular building with raised dirt berms surrounding it. The dirt is there tj absorb shock and hopefully protect neighboring buildings in case of an explosion.
    The after shot. A number of buildings here are completely destroyed, either from direct targeting or a result of the blast and resulting fire that blazed for two days.

    The fire in the aftermath of the attack led to a state of emergency being declared in the region as civilians were evacuated. Some having had their houses damaged in the explosion.

    Video shows the soon after from the explosion, you can see that some of the houses were damaged from the shockwave of the large blast.

    The explosion damaged many homes in the immediate area. Windows busted or blown out, as well as roofs being damaged or having sections completely blown off.

  • Moscow report 69 drones shot down in massive Ukrainian drone wave attack (Videos)

    Moscow report 69 drones shot down in massive Ukrainian drone wave attack (Videos)

    By. Scott Jackson

    March 11th, 2025

    Early on Tuesday morning Ukraine targeted the Moscow region with its largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of the war, damaging high rise buildings and leaving at least 2 dead and 20 wounded including several children. Additionally, air traffic at all 4 of Moscow’s airport and the city’s train system was suspended and delayed.

    The drones approved the city in several waves according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin who put out a statement to local and international media.

    I‘ve added some videos of the attack taken by locals and local news.

    The scene from around the city as hundreds of drones attack Moscow and the regions around it.

    All of this comes after Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s failed meeting with US president Donald Trump in which the two plus the Bice President JD Vance argued on live tv about the state of the war. After that meeting all US aid shipments to Ukraine were canceled along with all US supplied intel. The cancelation of the intel and supplies has been reversed but not before Russia made large gains taking back dozens of settlements that were held by Ukraine for months inside of Kursk. Tomorrow I’m going to do an overall update on the date of the war in Ukraine on all fronts, so stay tuned for that.