Russian authorities and media outlets have adopted various approaches to handle the extraordinary Ukrainian drone assaults on Russian airbases that occurred on June 1.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that as part of an operation called
Spiderweb
On June 1, it caused damage or destruction to 41 Russian aircraft stationed at the Belaya, Dyagilevo, Olenya, and Ivanovo airbases.
The Kyiv Independent was unable to confirm the number of aircraft struck by the SBU on its own.
Kyiv claims it has taken out 34% of Russia’s strategic bomber aircraft in an operation deemed among the boldest during the ongoing full-scale conflict. This attack allegedly utilized 117 drones deployed from concealed vehicles positioned throughout Russian territory.
Senior Russian leaders, including the President,
Vladimir Putin
, made no remarks about the Ukrainian operation whatsoever, whereas certain pro-war propagandists attempted to minimize its extent.
Various propagandists warned of potential retaliation against Ukraine and the West through possible nuclear attacks and assaults on airbases within NATO nations.
However, certain pro-war bloggers expressed doubt, referring to the assaults as a “Russian Pearl Harbor”—alluding to the catastrophic Japanese bombing of the U.S. naval station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, back in 1941. They contended that the Russian government ought not to misrepresent these events and must derive lessons from them to avoid such occurrences down the line.
Nuclear threats from Russia seem less credible now that it has become apparent you could significantly diminish its substantial nuclear capabilities.
drones
And trucks,” Russian opposition journalist Sergei Parkhomenko stated to the Kyiv Independent regarding the alleged destruction of nuclear-equipped strategic bombers by Ukraine.
Downplaying attacks
The Russian Defence Ministry characterized the Ukrainian attacks as a “terrorist act” carried out by the “Kiev regime.” This assertion seems peculiar since the operation was directed solely at military installations and did not involve civilian targets.
The ministry stated that “every terrorist attack was thwarted” and that “multiple security measures were implemented.”
aircraft equipment
caught fire.”
The blazes have been put out,” stated the ministry. “No service members or civil employees have been injured.
The Defense Ministry likewise stated that “several individuals responsible for the assaults have been apprehended.”
Certain pro-war bloggers opted to minimize the extent of the Ukrainian assaults.
“I talked to informed sources who indicated that although the harm to reputation is substantial, the actual losses are minimal,” wrote pro-war propagandist Alexei Zhivov on Telegram. “Sufficient forces and resources remain for continuing the military operation. Essentially, everything will stay as it is.”
He mentioned that Ukrainian “attacks cannot force anyone to surrender.”
Read also:
Operation Spiderweb – all the details on Ukraine’s ‘daring’ assault on Russia’s strategic aircraft
Issuing threats
One of the nation’s leading propaganda experts,
Vladimir Solovyov
mentioned on his television program that the Ukrainian initiative served as “cause for a
nuclear attack
and urged for carrying out strikes against Ukraine’s President’s Office on Bankova Street in Kyiv and the airfields
Poland
and
Romania
reportedly utilized by Ukrainian aircraft.
Regarding the release of video footage from Russian airbases captured by soldiers amid the Ukrainian assaults, Solovyov advocated for implementing “strictest military censorship” to suppress these types of recordings.
Margarita Simonyan, the head editor of the Kremlin’s English-language television channel RT, stated on Solovyov’s program that “retaliation” for the Ukrainian assaults was “unavoidable,” suggesting that those accountable could face execution.
Critical pro-war bloggers
Nevertheless, some proponents of war propaganda criticized the Russian government.
“The day will later be referred to as a dark one for Russia’s long-range aviation,” Blogger Fighter Bomber posted on Telegram.
Regarding the containers from which the Ukrainian drones were launched, Fighter Bomber commented that “it was truly challenging not to hit those containers even with poor effort.”
“We managed though,” he said additionally.
Fighter Bomber also remarked that they anticipated the Russian authorities would reward those who neglected to safeguard the airfields instead of penalizing them, hinting at the prevalent favoritism and corruption within the Russian military.
Meanwhile, the pro-war blogger Starshe Eddy (“older than the Edda”) dismissed claims by other propagandists that the operation was carried out by Western intelligence rather than by Ukrainians.
“If the
British
, using the hands of these so-called ‘dumb’ Ukrainians, managed to hit us like this — then what should we expect from a direct confrontation with the British themselves?” the pro-war blogger said on Telegram.
The Ukrainians are far from unintelligent. For three and a half years, they have engaged in sophisticated, cunning, and bold operations during their conflict with us. Future editions of spy manuals — ours included — will document today’s events as a significant case study.
He further stated that “British intelligence is actively participating in the conflict, yet we shouldn’t attribute all our shortcomings to them as usual and use them as a scapegoat for our mistakes.”
“As one wise man once said: if you publicly shit yourself, you should apologize, wash your ass, and change your clothes — not walk around a public place with your pants full of shit pretending nothing happened,” the blogger continued.
A further propagandist, Alexander Kots, encouraged Russians to cease misrepresenting details regarding Ukrainian assaults.
“It’s crucial to speak the truth now, regardless of how harsh it might seem,” he penned. “We will prevail in the conflict either way. We simply need to cease deceiving ourselves.”
Won’t move the needle
A different set of critics against the Russian government’s behavior consisted of those who identify as opponents of Putin’s administration.
Anti-Kremlin columnist Parkhomenko stated that several officials might face dismissal because of their inability to stop the attacks; however, the Kremlin aims to refrain from publicly linking these firings to the ongoing Ukrainian operation.
He similarly informed the Kyiv Independent that Russia was probably going to carry out several retaliatory strikes against Ukraine.
Parkomenko believes the attacks will also have an impact on Russia’s relations with
NATO
nations because he believes Western intelligence services probably participated in the mission.
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky
has refuted these allegations, stating that Ukraine conducted the operation independently, without support from Western intelligence agencies.
Furthermore, he noted that Russia’s standing in talks with the Western side has diminished as a result of these attacks.
Parkhomenko stated, though, that these assaults were not likely to inflict significant damage to Putin’s standing with the public or within the Russian elite.
Parkhomenko mentioned that Russian propaganda is minimizing the extent of the damage, and both supporters and opponents of Putin are not likely to alter their views.
He mentioned that Ukraine’s unparalleled
incursion
into Russia’s Kursk Oblast had not significantly affected Putin’s popularity levels as well.
Read also:
Complete handbook on how drones transformed combat operations in Ukraine
