On June 1, Ukraine carried out Operation Spiderweb, an impressive attack far inside Russian territory. By now, the details of the attack are well-known: Ukrainian operatives hid over 100 small drones carrying small explosive devices in containers, which were then loaded onto tractor-trailer trucks, apparently without the drivers’ knowledge of what was in them. Once the trucks arrived in the vicinity of the targeted military airbases, the roofs of the containers opened and the drones were flown into Russian military aircraft parked on the airfields, destroying or damaging at least a dozen aircraft. The operation reportedly took 18 months to plan and was kept perfectly secret.
One attack failed, as the drones exploded prematurely while still in their container. Nevertheless, Operation Spiderweb was an unmitigated success for the Ukrainian military. Symbolically, it sent a strong signal to Moscow that Kyiv is not ready to give up the fight—and that it is still able to come up with new ways to hit Russia. It also sent an important message to Ukraine’s allies, especially the U.S., that Kyiv still has cards to play. Concretely, the attacks weakened Russia’s military capabilities, although the losses did not directly affect its ability to carry out frontline attacks. Russia has tried to downplay the significance of the operation, even as it further increased the massive drone and missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine it has been carrying out for the past week.
Now that the dust has settled, it’s worth looking at any lasting lessons that Western military leaders and civilian policymakers should draw from this operation. Three in particular stand out.