Exclusive: Ukraine hit fewer Russian planes than it estimated, US officials say
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Hamas trying to incite Gazan population to storm Israeli border, military officials fear
Senior IDF officials held a security assessment to discuss an extreme scenario in which Hamas could incite the population in central and southern Gaza to storm the Israeli border. The military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior IDF commanders on the ground. Hamas has reportedly deployed armed operatives along pedestrian routes to intimidate civilians and prevent them from approaching the distribution centers. The assessment also raised several extreme scenarios, including the possibility that Hamas would attempt to attack distribution centers using operatives without clear organizational ties. To mitigate such threats, the IDF has deployed reserve forces in the area. More Palestinians are expected to head south to obtain food aid. UN officials in the Gaza Strip have refused for over a week to transfer 390 trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the central Gaza Strip.
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The military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior IDF commanders on the ground.
Senior IDF officials held a security assessment to discuss an extreme scenario in which Hamas could incite the population in central and southern Gaza to storm the Israeli border during a military assessment, Walla reported on Wednesday.
In response, the military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior commanders on the ground.
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The military assessment also discussed Hamas’s efforts to prevent the distribution of food packages by an American company at three locations in Rafah.
During the discussion, officials noted that tens of thousands of food packages have already been distributed to representatives of families of 50 people each. Each package is designed to last five days.
Hamas has reportedly deployed armed operatives along pedestrian routes to intimidate civilians and prevent them from approaching the distribution centers. In some cases, according to the IDF spokesperson, Hamas terrorists fired live rounds at civilians to deter them. Despite this, residents have found ways to bypass the blockades—from the shelter areas to the distribution centers—in order to receive the food packages.
Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee their homes after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders from the center Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 3, 2025. (photo credit: Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
At the same time, Hamas has been waging a psychological warfare campaign, spreading false information to discourage the public from accepting the aid.
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“Hamas understands it is no longer the sole authority in Gaza,” a security official said. “As time goes on, we’ll refine the distribution sites to serve more people and establish additional sites.” The official declined to specify who is funding the packages brought into Israel.
IDF believes more Palestinians will head to southern Gaza to obtain aid
According to Southern Command estimates, more Palestinians are expected to head south to obtain food aid. The assessment also raised several extreme scenarios, including the possibility that Hamas would attempt to attack distribution centers using operatives without clear organizational ties. To mitigate such threats, the IDF has deployed reserve forces in the area.
In addition, Walla has learned that UN officials in the Gaza Strip have refused for over a week to transfer 390 trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the central Gaza Strip.
A security source involved in the process said that Hamas is pressuring the UN not to cooperate, hoping to collapse the American company’s distribution initiative in the south. Initially, UN officials cited legal difficulties in collecting and transporting the humanitarian aid, but according to the security source, the defense establishment believes these are merely excuses.
At this stage, the American company has not set up distribution centers in the north or center of the Gaza Strip, in order to encourage residents to move to shelter areas in the south.
‘Risk level goes up’ — Ukraine’s strike on Russian bombers could escalate war, US envoy Kellogg says
Ukraine’s drone assault on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, known as Operation Spiderweb, could escalate the war. U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News on June 3. Operation reportedly targeted four airfields deep inside Russian territory, striking 41 aircraft. Kellogg also pointed to reports of explosions at the Severomorsk naval base, home to some of Russia’s most advanced submarines. Despite the scale and strategic implications of the Ukrainian operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly addressed the strike. The full extent of the damage remains unverified, and no independent confirmation has emerged.
Ukraine’s drone assault on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, known as Operation Spiderweb, could escalate the war and provoke unpredictable responses from Moscow, U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News on June 3.
The operation, launched by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reportedly targeted four airfields deep inside Russian territory, striking 41 aircraft and inflicting what Kyiv claims is $7 billion in damage.
The targeted air bases reportedly housed Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, essential carriers of long-range cruise missiles used in Moscow’s air strikes on Ukrainian cities.
“I’m telling you the risk levels are going way up,” Kellogg said. “When you attack an opponent’s part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side’s going to do.”
According to the SBU, 117 drones were launched from mobile platforms across Russia, enabling simultaneous strikes on targets located thousands of kilometers from Ukraine’s borders.
Kellogg also pointed to reports of explosions at the Severomorsk naval base, home to some of Russia’s most advanced submarines. Kyiv has not confirmed targeting Russia’s Northern Fleet.
“The one that really concerned me was the fact that there have been reports that they attacked the naval, the Northern Fleet headquarters in Severomorsk,” Kellogg said. “And if that’s the case — when you attack two legs of a triad — it’s very clear the risk levels will go up.”
Russian officials have denied that the base was hit, and no independent confirmation has emerged.
According to Kellogg, the attacks showed that Kyiv “is not lying down on that.”
“Ukraine is basically, ‘We can play this game, too.’ And they can raise the risk level to levels that are basically, to me, they’ve got to be unacceptable,” he added.
Despite the scale and strategic implications of the Ukrainian operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly addressed the strike. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as a would-be peacemaker, has also remained silent.
Pressed by reporters on June 3, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump was not informed in advance about the operation.
“I would like to let the president speak on that himself,” Leavitt said. She later added, “The president does not want to see this war prolonged. He wants this war to stop.”
Ukrainian officials say the operation took 18 months to plan. While Kyiv says the strike dealt a serious blow to Russia’s strategic air capabilities, the full extent of the damage remains unverified.
Operation Spiderweb marks one of the most sophisticated and far-reaching Ukrainian operations since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 — and a stark signal of Ukraine’s growing capacity to strike deep inside Russian territory.
Exclusive: Ukraine hit fewer Russian planes than it estimated, US officials say
U.S. officials estimate 10 Russian warplanes destroyed in Ukraine drone attack. Ukraine’s operation ‘Spider’s Web’ targeted four Russian air bases with bombers. Russia and the United States together hold about 88% of all nuclear weapons. Ukraine says it targeted four air bases across Russia using 117 unmanned aerial vehicles launched from containers close to the targets, in an operation codenamed ” spider’s Web” Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to attack, Trump said in a social media post. The war in Ukraine is intensifying despite nearly four months of efforts by Trump, who says he wants peace after the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. The United States says it was not given any notice by Kyiv ahead of the attack and urged it to restrain Kyiv after the attacks. The attack has bolstered Ukrainian morale after months of unrelenting Russian battlefield pressure and numerous powerful missile and drone strikes by Moscow’s forces. It has also demonstrated that Kyiv, even as it struggles to halt invading Russian forces, can surprise Moscow deep inside its own territory.
Summary US officials estimate 10 Russian warplanes destroyed in Ukraine drone attack
Ukraine’s operation ‘Spider’s Web’ targeted four Russian air bases with drones
Risk of escalation seen rising as Ukraine strikes Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – The United States assesses that Ukraine’s drone attack over the weekend hit as many as 20 Russian warplanes, destroying around 10 of them, two U.S. officials told Reuters, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Still, the U.S. officials described the attack as highly significant, with one of them cautioning that it could drive Moscow to a far more severe negotiating position in the U.S.-brokered talks to end more than three years of war
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Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to attack, Trump said in a social media post.
Trump added it “was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.”
Ukraine says it targeted four air bases across Russia using 117 unmanned aerial vehicles launched from containers close to the targets, in an operation codenamed “Spider’s Web.”
It released footage on Wednesday showing its drones striking Russian strategic bombers and landing on the dome antennas of two A-50 military spy planes, of which there are only a handful in Russia’s fleet.
The two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, estimated the Ukrainian strikes destroyed around 10 and hit up to 20 warplanes in total.
That estimate is far lower than the one Zelenskiy offered to reporters in Kyiv earlier on Wednesday. He said half of the 41 Russian aircraft struck were too damaged to be repaired.
Reuters could not independently verify the numbers from Kyiv or the United States.
Russia, which prioritizes its nuclear forces as a deterrent to the United States and NATO, urged the United States and Britain on Wednesday to restrain Kyiv after the attacks. Russia and the United States together hold about 88% of all nuclear weapons.
The United States says it was not given any notice by Kyiv ahead of the attack.
The war in Ukraine is intensifying despite nearly four months of efforts by Trump, who says he wants peace after the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Russian and Ukrainian embassies also did not immediately reply.
ESCALATION RISK
Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, said the damage to Russia caused by the operation amounted to $7 billion, and 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia’s main airfields were hit.
Commercial satellite imagery taken after the Ukrainian drone attack shows what experts told Reuters appear to be damaged Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers and Tu-22 Backfires, long-range, supersonic strategic bombers that Russia has used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has acknowledged that Ukraine targeted airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions and were repelled in the last three locations. It has also said several aircraft caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions.
The attack has bolstered Ukrainian morale after months of unrelenting Russian battlefield pressure and numerous powerful missile and drone strikes by Moscow’s forces.
It also demonstrated that Kyiv, even as it struggles to halt invading Russian forces, can surprise Moscow deep inside its own territory with attacks up to 4,300 km (2,670 miles) from the front lines.
Influential Russian military bloggers have accused Russian authorities, especially the aerospace command, of negligence and complacency for allowing the nuclear-capable bombers to be targeted.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy said the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was “going way up,” particularly since Kyiv had struck one leg of Russia’s “nuclear triad,” or weapons on land, in the air and at sea.
“In the national security space, when you attack an opponent’s part of their national survival system, which is their triad, the nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side is going to do,” Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, told Fox News on Tuesday.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel
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The Russian aircraft Ukraine said it hit were missile carriers and other key planes that aren’t easily replaced
Ukraine said it hit 41 Russian aircraft in a daring attack on multiple airfields. The aircraft Ukraine said that it hit fire missiles at Ukraine and execute other critical missions. Some of the planes were “irretrievably destroyed” while others will “take many years to rebuild” Ukraine estimates the damage inflicted by its attack could be $7 billion, a figure that has not been independently verified. The head of the agency, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, said that the attack was meant to curb Russian attacks on Ukraine. The planes Ukraine hit include the A-50 airborne early warning and control plane, Tupolev Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 bombers, An-12 transport aircraft, and the Il-78 refueling tanker. Many of them cannot be easily replaced as Russia has stopped making them after the USSR collapsed in 1991, an airpower expert told Business Insider. Russia also no longer makes the Tu-50, though it said last year that production may restart.
The aircraft Ukraine said that it hit fire missiles at Ukraine and execute other critical missions.
Many of them cannot be easily replaced as Russia has stopped making them.
Ukraine launched a daring attack on multiple Russian airfields on Sunday, claiming hits on 41 Russian aircraft, including certain strategic planes that aren’t easily replaced.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that its operatives positioned drones close to airfields in trucks before releasing them to target Russian aircraft in “Operation Spiderweb.” Videos, including drone footage obtained by Business Insider, showed burning Russian bombers.
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The SBU said aircraft hit included the A-50 airborne early warning and control plane, Tupolev Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 bombers, An-12 transport aircraft, and the Il-78 refueling tanker.
Many of the Russian aircraft Ukraine said it hit have been seen damaged, destroyed, or burning in videos of the attack from the SBU and satellite images of the Russian bases. The SBU said that some of the planes were “irretrievably destroyed” while others will “take many years to rebuild.”
Key Russian aircraft
Any A-50 loss means a loss of situational awareness for Russia’s air force. These important air assets amplify the effectiveness of Russia’s air force by detecting enemy aircraft, missiles, air defense systems, and ground targets. They also act as mobile command-and-control centers for directing attacks.
Ukraine has shot down multiple A-50s during Russia’s invasion, meaning Russia likely only has a handful left. These aircraft are estimated to cost around $300 million each.
A Russian Beriev A-50. AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File
Among the other planes that Ukraine said it hit are ones Russia has used to fire missiles in its invasion.
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The Tu-22M is a Soviet-era bomber that its manufacturer, Tupolev, describes as a “long-range supersonic missile carrier bomber” designed to strike ground and sea targets using guided missiles and aerial bombs.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service told BBC Ukraine last year that it carries the Kh-22 missiles, which have caused tremendous damage to Ukrainian cities like Odesa.
Ukraine has previously claimed to have destroyed some Tu-22Ms, both in the air and at an airfield deep inside Russia. Ukraine estimates the planes cost around $100 million each.
The Tu-95 is a Cold War-era long-range turboprop bomber that can carry eight long-range cruise missiles armed with either conventional or nuclear warheads. Russia has also used it for attacks on Ukraine.
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Russia also uses the Tu-160 — a heavy supersonic long-range strategic bomber first introduced during the Soviet era that is able to carry nuclear and conventional cruise missiles — in its attacks.
Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider that both the Tu-95 and the Tu-160 had been “heavily tasked” with firing Kh-101 missiles at Ukraine.
The SBU said the damage inflicted by its attack could be $7 billion, a figure that has not been independently verified. The head of the agency, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, said that the attack was meant to curb Russian attacks on Ukraine.
“The adversary bombed our country almost every night from these aircraft, and today they have felt that retribution is inevitable,” Maliuk said. The general said the security agency “is doing and will do everything possible to protect Ukraine.”
Hard to replace
Dollar figures are tossed around for the planes Ukraine hit, but Russia can’t replace some of these aircraft easily.
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Production of the Tu-95 and Tu-22M stopped after the USSR collapsed in 1991. Russia also no longer makes A-50s, though it said last year that production may restart. Tu-160s are still made, but slowly. Reports indicate only two have been made since 2022.
Bronk said replacing the losses will be “very challenging” for Russia.
“The Tu-95 has not been produced for more than 30 years and production/modernisation of the Tu-160 is at a very limited scale,” he said in emailed comments to BI.
A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images
Maliuk said that “34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main Russian airfields were hit.” Imagery from the sites confirms some of the reported destruction.
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Satellite images from company Capella Space and seen by Reuters show what experts told the outlet appeared to be several destroyed and damaged Tu-95s and Tu-22s.
A win for Ukraine
Bronk said that the destruction that can be seen visually shows “this is a stunning success for Ukraine’s special services.” He pointed to confirmation of the destruction of around eight Tu-95 bombers, a Tu-22M3, and several other aircraft.
The 41 aircraft figure given by Ukraine is being debated. Some analyses based on visual evidence that is available so far have pointed to a lower figure.
Bronk said that if even half of Ukraine’s claim of 41 aircraft were damaged or destroyed, “it will have a significant impact” on Russia’s ability to “keep up its regular large scale cruise missile salvos against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure” while also keeping up its nuclear deterrence and signaling patrols against NATO and Japan.
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How the attack affects the battlefield, where Ukraine is facing a relentless push from Russia’s larger military and dampening US support, remains to be seen.
Dan Grazier, a security expert at the Stimson Center, told BI that he was skeptical that it was “really going to move the needle in one way or the other” on the battlefield.
That said, the attack is still significant and rewrites the rules of warfare, experts say.
The SBU said the attack hit four Russian airfields simultaneously across three time zones, explaining that the plan allowed it to hit the largest number of Russian aircraft at the same time.
A satellite view shows military aircraft, some sitting destroyed, at the Belaya air base, near Stepnoy, Irkutsk region, Russia after Ukraine’s attack. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/via REUTERS
It said it brought drones in mobile containers into Russia, hiding the drones on trucks. The container roofs were opened remotely “at the right moment” and the drones struck their targets. The details of the operation have not been independently verified.
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It said the operation was planned for more than a year and a half.
Tim Robinson, a military aviation specialist at the UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society, told BI the attack will spook Western air forces. “If you’re an Air Force chief and you are not lying awake at night thinking about how to protect you, you’re going to lose the next war.”
And it’s a statement of intent from Ukraine.
Maliuk said “the enemy thought it could bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians endlessly and with impunity. This is not the case. We will respond to russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere — at sea, in the air and on land.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukraine’s Security Service posts video of Operation Spider’s Web, showing 41 Russian aircraft being hit
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has released footage of Operation Spider’s Web, a special mission that reportedly struck 41 Russian strategic military aircraft. The footage shows SSU first-person view drones striking four enemy airfields: Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Belaya, where Russian forces’ strategic aircraft, used to attack Ukrainian cities, were based.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has released footage of Operation Spider’s Web, a special mission that reportedly struck 41 Russian strategic military aircraft.
Source: SSU on Telegram
Details: The SSU stated that Operation Spider’s Web, personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and led by SSU chief Vasyl Maliuk and his team, damaged or destroyed 41 Russian warplanes.
Quote from SSU: “A significant number are irreparably destroyed, while some damaged aircraft will require years to repair. The footage shows SSU first-person view drones striking four enemy airfields: Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Belaya, where Russian forces’ strategic aircraft, used to attack Ukrainian cities, were based. The affected aircraft include A-50s, Tu-95s, Tu-22s, Tu-160s, An-12s and Il-78s.”
Details: The operation employed advanced UAV control technology, combining autonomous artificial intelligence algorithms with manual operator intervention.
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The SSU explained that some drones, upon losing signal, switched to AI-guided autonomous mode, following pre-planned routes. Upon reaching their targets, the warheads automatically detonated.
The cost of the damaged Russian equipment is estimated to be over US$7 billion.
Background:
On 1 June 2025, the SSU conducted Operation Spider’s Web, targeting strategic aircraft at four Russian airfields.
SSU chief Vasyl Maliuk stated that the strikes affected 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers based at their main airfields.
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