By Samantha McClellan
On June 1st, 2025, Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia that has caught the attention of the Globe due to its advance in Russian territory. Ukraine’s drone attack reached further into Russian territory than any previous recorded strike.
The drone attacks were targeted in the Irkutsk region in Russia.The Irkutsk region is 2,500 miles away from Ukraine. Ukraine has not yet attacked a territory as far and deep into Russia’s territory. This can raise concerns in Russia about Ukraine’s capability to reach new and farther regions in Russia.
Ukraine has named this drone attack as Operation Spider’s Web. The strike used 117 drones and destroyed Russia’s 40 military bombers . According to The Security Service of Ukraine, the strike destroyed 34% of Russia’s fleet of air missile carriers and the damages of the attack are at an estimated $7 billion. This was not a targeted civilian attack and no civilians were harmed.
Now there are rising concerns over how Russia may respond. This also could impact the progress Ukraine and Russia have made in peace talks. The international community will now have to wait to see if Russia will be intimidated by this or if Russia will strike back. Time will only tell what can happen next in this ongoing war.