Russia Responds to Spider Web Operation: Nine Ukrainian Regions Under Fire

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Russia bombarded nine Ukrainian regions with hundreds of missiles and drones in a massive strike that Moscow described as retaliation for Kyiv’s “Spider Web” operation.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had given Russian President Vladimir Putin a reason to intensify the bombings, referring to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian airports.

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The Kremlin reiterated that the conflict in Ukraine is an “existential issue” for Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a press briefing: “For us, it is an existential matter — one that concerns our national interest, our security, our future, and that of our children and our country.”

While fighting continues on both sides, the peace talks recently revived by Donald Trump appear to have reached a stalemate once again.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that the country was attacked with 407 drones and 45 missiles. Air defenses managed to shoot down 199 drones and 36 missiles.

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Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated in a communiqué that it had targeted Ukrainian military sites “in response” to recent “terrorist attacks” launched by Kyiv.

In recent days, Moscow had vowed to retaliate after Ukraine struck Russian bombers last weekend at bases located thousands of kilometers from its borders — an operation it called “Spider Web.”

Less than a week later, Ukraine’s military announced on Friday that it had “successfully” bombed two more Russian airbases overnight in the Saratov and Ryazan regions, reportedly hitting fuel storage facilities.

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Moscow also accused Kyiv on Tuesday of being behind a series of explosions that damaged bridges near the border over the previous weekend, causing the derailment of a passenger train, a freight train, and a surveillance train. The attacks killed seven people. Russia claims the aim was to undermine peace negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that around 80 people were injured in the Russian strikes, with three paramedics killed in Kyiv.

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In Kyiv, a resident named Kseniya told AFP in front of a heavily damaged building: “We heard the sound of a drone approaching, then there was an explosion.”

In the northwestern city of Lutsk, emergency workers recovered the body of a man from the rubble of an eight-story building that had been struck.

Zelensky stated that Russian bombardments targeted nine regions: Volyn, Lviv, Ternopil, Kyiv, Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi.

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Internal Threat

Overnight, the Russian military announced it had neutralized 174 Ukrainian drones launched toward Russian territory. Three Moscow airports were temporarily closed, according to the Russian Air Transport Agency, which later lifted the restrictions.

Additionally, Russia’s National Guard reported on Friday that it had killed a man who was preparing to launch a drone attack on a military site in the Ryazan region, southeast of the capital.

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The intensified fighting signals dwindling chances of de-escalation, more than three years into the war, despite repeated calls for a ceasefire and pressure from Donald Trump to initiate peace talks and end the conflict.

Finally, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that air defense units had destroyed 82 Ukrainian drones — including in the Moscow region — over a span of eight and a half hours. Most of them were intercepted in areas near the Ukrainian border or in central Russia on Friday night.

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