The investigation has been completed: losses from the SBU’s “Spider Web” operation amounted to 2 billion rubles
2 May 21:15
The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia has concluded its investigation into the criminal case stemming from the Ukrainian special services’ “Spiderweb” operation, carried out on June 1, 2025. According to the case files reviewed by Russian media, the damage caused by the operation is estimated at 2 billion rubles, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Based on the investigation’s findings, charges have been brought against four truck drivers who delivered drones to the attack sites: Andriy Merkuriev, Oleksandr Zaitsev, Mykhailo Ryumin, and Serhiy Kanurin.
“The direct organizer of the crime has fled, and the rest of the suspects have not been identified,” the journalists continue.
The truck drivers deny guilt and claim they were “used without their knowledge,” according to media reports.
According to the investigation, the drivers were operating trucks carrying prefabricated houses, inside which drones were hidden. They are charged with involvement in a terrorist attack committed by a group of individuals acting in concert, which caused significant damage. They are also charged with the illegal acquisition and transportation of explosives by an organized group.
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Russian security forces believe the operation was organized by Ukrainian nationals Artem and Kateryna Tymofeyev, as well as a man named Borisovsky. The case files total about 90 volumes.
Zelensky on “Spiderweb”: Drivers Didn’t Know They Were Transporting UAVs
Truck drivers in Russia did not know that “housings” for drones were installed in their vehicles, which were later launched to attack Russian strategic cruise missile carriers as part of Operation “Spiderweb,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the program “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” on ABC News.
“They (the truck drivers. — Ed. ) knew nothing. They were just doing their jobs,” Zelenskyy told the journalist. The special services used “only our weapons” and did not employ equipment from the allies’ arsenal, he emphasized.
Operation “Spiderweb” by Ukrainian Special Services in June 2025
On June 1, 2025, Russian military airfields came under a massive drone attack. This operation had been in the works for over a year and a half. A few days later, a DW source within NATO estimated the total damage inflicted on the Russian Armed Forces by the Ukrainian attacks at $2–7 billion.
Operation “Spiderweb” became one of the most high-profile attacks by the SBU on Russian military facilities and the largest strike in history against the Russian Federation’s strategic aviation. The airbases targeted were “Olenya” on the Kola Peninsula, “Bila” in the Irkutsk region, “Ivanovo,” and the “Dyagilevo” airfield near Ryazan. An attack was also planned on the “Ukrainka” airfield in the Amur region, but it failed because the truck caught fire.
According to U.S. intelligence, the strikes put 20 aircraft out of commission. DW sources within NATO estimate that at least 40 aircraft were damaged, and between 10 and 13 were completely destroyed.
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