Zelensky and the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk

This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.

Ukraine had been preparing the attack for a year and a half and carried it out on its own. No one else was involved in the operation, least of all NATO countries, as the post claims, so it cannot be said that NATO is now at war with Russia. Also, no nuclear weapons were destroyed in the Ukrainian attack, but aircraft capable of launching nuclear bombs were destroyed. These aircraft are used by Russia to bomb Ukrainian cities and villages with conventional missiles and bombs, and Ukraine, according to all the rules of warfare, has the right to defend itself by disabling aircraft used by the aggressor, especially those used to commit war crimes, such as attacks on civilian targets and civilians

We analyze a Facebook post that says:

NATO countries today struck Russia’s nuclear potential, playing with nuclear fire. The war is entering phase 3, the conflict from Ukraine vs. Russia is moving to NATO vs. Russia. I expect NATO bases to be hit in the coming days, I apologize, destroyed.

On June 1, 2025, The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that it had carried out a major drone operation on Russian military airfields, which it claimed had destroyed or damaged 34 percent of the strategic bombers used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities. The operation, codenamed “Spider’s Web,” caused an estimated $7 billion in damage.

The drones were targeted at five Russian airports: Belaja, Djažilevo, Olenja, Ivanovo and several others in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ryazan and Amur regions.

According to intelligence sources and local authorities, Ukrainian FPV drones were launched from trucks parked near air bases. They destroyed or seriously damaged a number of strategic aircraft used daily in the bombing of Ukrainian cities–including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as an A-50 early warning and surveillance aircraft.

Ukraine had been preparing the attack for a year and a half and carried it out independently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed.

“An absolutely brilliant result. A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation. Our people involved in preparing the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory in time. I thanked General Maliuk for this success of Ukraine. I instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to inform the public about the details and results of the operation that can be disclosed. Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books. Ukraine is defending itself, and rightly so – we are doing everything to make Russia feel the need to end this war. Russia started this war, Russia must end it. Glory to Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote on X.

 

So, no one else was involved in the operation, least of all NATO countries, as the post claims. Operation “Spider’s web,” as Zelensky himself confirmed, was planned and carried out independently by Ukraine, hence it cannot be said that NATO is now at war with Russia.

This is a well-known pro-Kremlin narrative that aims to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022. Truthmeter.mk has debunked the information that NATO is at war with Russia many times before.

The fact is that NATO is not at war with Russia, but rather Russia has launched a military invasion of Ukraine in which a large number of civilians and soldiers have died on Ukrainian territory.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched missile strikes on locations across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. Russian ground forces entered Ukrainian territory, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to respond by declaring martial law, severing diplomatic relations with Russia, and general mobilization. The invasion is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II and has been the subject of widespread international condemnation, as well as sanctions against Russia.

Russia has attacked Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to defend itself. NATO condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, an independent and democratic state and a close NATO partner. NATO and its allies continue to support Ukraine in its indisputable right to self-defense.

NATO helps coordinate Ukrainian requests for assistance and supports Allies in delivering humanitarian aid. NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee and its iron-clad promise of collective defense provides Allies with the confidence that they can send weapons to Ukraine without diminishing their own security. Furthermore, the well-established structure of common Alliance standards and interoperable systems enables the Alliance to supply equipment with the assurance that deliveries to Ukraine can be supplemented by compatible equipment from other Allies. NATO member countries are sending weapons, ammunition and many types of light and heavy military equipment to Ukraine, including anti-tank and air defence systems, howitzers, drones, tanks and fighter jets, says NATO’s website.

As for the claim in the post that the Ukrainian operation hit Russia’s nuclear potential, playing with nuclear fire, this is also a manipulation, since no one destroyed any nuclear weapons. According to information from the Ukrainian security services, at least 41 Russian heavy bombers were hit at four air bases. The attacks hit the Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian cities.

As the Moscow Times reports, citing a source in Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, the coordinated strikes hit 41 aircraft used to “bomb Ukrainian cities,” naming the Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers and the A-50 radar detection and command aircraft. If confirmed, the biggest prize for Kyiv could be the damage to the A-50, which Russia uses to coordinate its fighter jets and detect Ukrainian air defense missiles, the portal adds in its analysis.

Fewer than 10 of these aircraft are thought to be in service. This would be the third Russia has lost since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with two others shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles in early 2024.

Russia no longer produces the Tu-95MS or Tu-22M3 aircraft believed to be among those burned. Along with the Tu-160, these long-range bombers are capable of carrying 16 cruise missiles capable of flying over 2,000 kilometers.

This was not just an attack on airport infrastructure. It was the first time Ukrainian drones had reached and struck the heart of Russia’s strategic aviation–a base integral to Moscow’s nuclear triad. The Tu-95MS planes burning on the runway are not just destroyed planes; they are shattered symbols of the air component of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The nuclear triad is the cornerstone of the strategic defense of major nuclear powers such as Russia and the United States, consisting of three components: intercontinental ballistic missiles [ICBMs], nuclear submarines, and strategic aviation. This structure ensures flexibility and resilience in a nuclear arsenal, enabling strikes from land, sea, and air. ICBMs, based in silos or on mobile platforms, provide a rapid and powerful response.

So, in the Ukrainian attack, no nuclear weapons were destroyed, as the post wants to portray, but aircraft with the capacity to launch nuclear bombs. These aircraft are used by Russia to bomb Ukrainian cities and villages with conventional missiles and bombs, and Ukraine, according to all the rules of warfare, has the right to defend itself by disabling aircraft used by the aggressor, especially those used to commit war crimes, such as attacks on civilian targets and civilians.

Considering all of the above, we can conclude that the post we are analyzing is untrue.