Ukraine’s spectacular drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet on Sunday (local time) began with a daunting request from Ukraine’s president to his spy chief in late fall 2023.

Across the country, swarms of small explosive drones descended onto military bases and destroyed a large part of Russia's nuclear bomber fleet. The flying bombs were smuggled into Russia by Ukrainian intelligence services in a plot known as Operation Spiderweb.

U.S. President Donald Trump's Ukraine envoy said the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was "going way up" after Ukrainian forces used drones to strike nuclear-capable bombers at several airbases deep inside Russia.