Russian media has named a Ukrainian ex-DJ as the ‘spy’ who ran Kyiv’s ‘Operation Spiderweb’ that targeted Moscow’s strategic bombers at four airfields deep inside Russian territory.
The SAS-style strike on Sunday against four airfields deep inside Russia reportedly wiped out a third of the country’s nuclear bombers.
The Russian media has named Artem Timofeev as the man they think ran Ukraine’s operation inside the country. According to reports, the 37-year-old is a former Ukrainian DJ and is believed to have owned the lorries used to carry the containers to the strikes.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, the drivers who allegedly transported the containers all had similar stories about taking instructions from an “Artem”
The report added that the drivers used for transportation were told that the containers had wooden frame houses.
A Russian blogger said that Artem was wanted in connection with the attack in the Irkutsk region. The blogger added that four lorries were registered in Artem Timofeev’s name and alleged that one of those was used in the attacks.
The Russian media reports also suspect Artem’s wife, Ekaterina Timofeeva, of being involved in the attacks.
A flat in Russia’s Chelyabinsk has been linked to the couple, and Artem was reportedly seen there just a week before Sunday’s attack, the US Sun reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the strikes that all those involved with the operation had been removed from Russia. So, if Artem Timofeev is involved in Operation Spiderweb, he may no longer be in Russia.
The Ukrainian attack on Russian airfields
Ukraine’s spectacular drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet on Sunday began with a daunting request from Ukraine’s president to his spy chief in late fall 2023.
A year and a half of planning, and the Ukrainian military carried out one of the most daring operations of the war since it began in February 2022.
The strategic bombers that launched many of Russia’s most powerful missiles operate from beyond the range of Ukraine’s air-defence systems, and were based at airfields across the country as far as 3,000 miles from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s SBU security service smuggled Ukrainian drone parts into Russia and assembled them at a secret location. SBU operatives inside Russia used unwitting truck drivers to deliver a modern version of the Trojan horse by concealing the drones in the roofs of wooden containers. On Sunday, the roofs, activated remotely, slid open on trucks close to Russian air bases, releasing dozens of drones. Ukraine said that it had damaged 41 warplanes valued at $7 billion at four bases using drones that cost about $2,000 each.
