Operation Spider’s Web will go down in history as one of the worst days in the Russian air force.
A plan masterminded over 18 months – dubbed Russia’s Pearl Harbour – that wiped out more than a third of the country’s warplanes in a matter of minutes.
The mastermind of it all? A former clothes merchant who worked as a DJ on the side.
Artem Tymofieiev,37,is now the focus of a nationwide manhunt for orchestrating the attack involving a truck convoy carrying drones.
They got to within striking distance of multiple major Russian bases before Ukraine launched the audacious mission.
Their target was a bomber fleet,well out of reach of air defences,that had crushed parts of Ukraine with cruise missiles and supersonic bombs.
These bombers formed the backbone of Russia’s ability to launch strikes far beyond Ukraine. The loss means months of repair,weakened deterrence,and morale collapse.
President Volodymyr Zelensky needed to come up with a plan,and that is where Tymofieiev comes in.
Tymofieiev shared photos while enjoying Kyiv’s nightlife (Picture: Social Media)
He and his wife,Ekaterina ‘Katya’ Timofeeva,are thought to have conducted the operation together (Picture: Social Media)
Tymofieiev lived in Kyiv with his wife where they owned a clothing brand together.
At the time,pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was in power,but facing a revolution from what became known as the Euromaidan protests.
The Ukrainian government at the time wanted to reverse long-running efforts to integrate with Europe,sparking four months of deadly protests in November 2013.
Tymofieiev was heavily involved,sharing pictures from the demonstrations and openly mocking Yanukovych.
In February 2014,Yanukovych’s government was toppled,making way for the installation of a pro-European government.
The attacks were spread out across Russia (Map: Metro)
Exactly how Tymofieiev made the leap from anti-Yanukovych protester to orchestrating one of the most audacious drone strikes in modern warfare is unclear.
However,he moved to the Russian city of Chelyabinsk several years ago,from where he plotted Operation Spider’s Web,apparently completely undetected.
He ran a haulage firm while his wife was a stylist and tattoo artist – writing a bit of erotic literature on the side.
His business was the perfect cover – it is not uncommon for Russian lorry drivers to drive long distances.
And his were driven to Olenya airbase in Murmansk,2,000 miles from Chelyabinsk; Belaya airfield in Irkutsk,more than 1,700 miles away,and Diaghilev and Ivanov bases both more than 1,000 miles away.
Stunned witnesses looked on as the drones were launched from within the trucks (Picture: Amur)
Olenya airbase lost multiple Russian Tu-95 bombers(Picture: OSINT)
Two of the drivers say they were tricked by a man called Artem into thinking they were carrying wooden-framed homes to the different locations.
When they got close to the four airbases,they received a call from an unknown number – using Russian SIM cards and Russian telecommunications networks – and were told where to stop the trucks.
Operation Spider’s Web had reached its crescendo.
According to Ukraine,nearly 120 kamikaze drones simultaneously launched from the trailers,striking the airbases and crippling the Russian air force.
In total,they inflicted in the region of $7 billion worth of damage.
Smoke was seen billowing from the base in Irkutsk,Siberia (Picture: E2W)
Footage from one of the drones captured the moment several of the aeroplanes were destroyed,and satellite imagery suggests the operation was a success.
Pro-Putin Telegram channels were flooded with reactions like ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbour’ – referencing Japan’s attack on the US Navy in WWII – and the ‘blackest day in aviation’.
In total,Ukraine claims 41 planes were destroyed,including one of Russia’s 10 Beriev A-50 jets,which cost as much as £260 million each.
So,where is Tymofieiev now? Of that,nobody is certain,but he is likely to have returned to Ukraine long before the attack.
Either way,Operation Spider’s Web has changed the course of Russia’s air war,the search for Tymofieiev is far from over,and Putin is out for revenge.
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