KYIV: Ukraine says it has carried out its biggest long-range drone attack since the war began, targeting four Russian military airbases and aiming at 40 warplanes. Dubbed the “Spider’s Web” operation, the bold strike was led by Ukraine’s SBU security agency and personally announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to Zelensky, the strike damaged around 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers. The BBC reported that the covert operation had been in preparation for 18 months.

Sources from the SBU revealed that the drones were smuggled into Russian territory concealed in wooden mobile cabins mounted on trucks. These cabins were equipped with remote-controlled roofs, allowing for the drones to be launched with precision once inside enemy lines.

Moscow acknowledged that several of its regions had come under attack but condemned the Ukrainian action as a “terrorist act.” Simultaneously, Ukraine reported enduring a heavy overnight assault from Russian drones and missiles.

The attack and counterattacks come just as Ukrainian and Russian delegations are scheduled to meet in Istanbul for another round of peace talks on Monday. Despite this, expectations remain low due to entrenched disagreements over the future of occupied territories and broader terms of conflict resolution.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Currently, Moscow holds around 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

In a late Sunday post on social media, President Zelensky lauded SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk for the “brilliant result” of the drone campaign, noting that every drone was individually piloted. The Ukrainian command center for the operation, he said, was located near a regional office of Russia’s FSB security agency.

He added that all Ukrainian personnel were safely evacuated before the attack was launched. The SBU estimates the damage to Russia’s strategic air fleet at $7 billion and has pledged to release further details.

As of now, the scale and success of Ukraine’s operation have not been independently verified.

(With inputs from international media outlets)