Just how much damage did Ukraine do in its 'Spiderweb' drone attack on Russia?

While Ukraine released what it said were recordings of drones attacking these aerial bases, arsenic good arsenic 2 others successful the Ivanovo and Ryazan regions, outer imagery did not amusement immoderate disposable signs of harm astatine these sites.

Russia nary longer manufactures these aircraft, said Thomas Withington, an physics warfare and aerial defence adept astatine the Royal United Services Institute, a deliberation vessel successful London.

“You can’t conscionable spell to the mill and get a caller one. Once you suffer 1 of these aircraft, broadly speaking you suffer it forever,” said Withington. “That degrades the strategical and atomic capabilities of the Russian aerial force.”

Whatever the full losses, fewer extracurricular Russia contention that Ukraine’s cognition was a singular feat of intelligence, readying and utilizing cheap, modern warfare tools.

According to the SBU, it stashed 117 tiny drones wrong sheds connected the backs of trucks, unleashing them adjacent the perimeters of 4 Russian aerial bases. One of these aerial bases, Belaya, is 2,500 miles distant from Ukraine’s borders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed it arsenic “a superb result” that took 18 months to program and would “undoubtedly beryllium successful past books.”

A Ukrainian worker trains with a combat drone.André Luís Alves / Anadolu via Getty Images file

Zelenskyy adjutant Pavlo Palisa told journalists successful Washington connected Wednesday that 41 Russian craft were hit, astir fractional of which were “completely destroyed” and the remainder nary longer capable to fly.

The SBU and Zelenskyy said 34% of Russia’s nuclear-capable strategical bombing unit had been taken retired of enactment — astatine a outgo of $7 billion.

Palisa told reporters that 2 Beriev A-50s — uncommon and invaluable early-warning radar planes, known arsenic “awacs” — were “targeted.” The SBU’s video lone appeared to amusement a drone landing connected apical of the radar crockery of 1 of these aircraft, however, with nary explosion.

When contacted by NBC News for much accusation connected however it came to its figures, the SBU said that NATO confirmed its tally — contempt the discrepancy successful figures fixed by the alliance.

Russia has a acold antithetic mentation of events.