Ukraine has yet to grasp how Operation Spider’s Web is affecting Russian public opinion — political analyst

This was stated by political analyst Andrey Piontkovsky in an interview with Anton Borkovskyi on the program Studio West on Espreso TV.

“It’s a big victory — military, but especially psychological and political. I think Ukraine hasn’t fully realized how much this has shaken Russian public opinion. A very interesting debate is now happening inside the so-called ‘Z-community’ — the group of hardline pro-war Russians,” Piontkovsky said.

He added that more and more people in that community are starting to blame their own government.

“It reminds me of Prigozhin’s change in tone. At first, he demanded more shells to kill Ukrainians. But in his final days — before marching toward Moscow and dying — he started attacking the government itself, saying things like: ‘We must punish the crooks who dragged us into this senseless war.’ Now, similar things are being said in Russia’s most patriotic circles. And Putin is only making it worse by staying silent,” he emphasized.

Piontkovsky also noted that this shift has encouraged Ukraine’s allies in the West.

“It helps them push back against Russian propaganda — especially the idea, repeated by people like Trump, that ‘Ukraine has no cards.’ The main argument used to be: ‘Yes, Ukraine is a victim of aggression, but it can’t win — so let’s help them surrender in a dignified way,’” he concluded.

What is known about the SBU’s Spider's Web operation:

On June 1, 2025, the Ukrainian Security Service conducted a major operation called Spider's Web aimed at destroying Russian bomber aviation. It is known that 40 aircraft were damaged.

According to the Security Service, the estimated value of Russia's strategic aviation affected by the special operation amounts to 7 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that all terrorist attacks at military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions were repelled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SBU Head Vasyl Maliuk for the operation’s results. He noted that the “office” of the SBU operation in Russia was located right next to the FSB administration in one of the regions. A total of 117 drones were used in the operation.

The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, later reported that at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed and even more were damaged in the large-scale SBU operation.