"Ukraine has right to defend itself": Danish PM Frederiksen on SBU's Operation Spider's Web

Reuters reported this statement.

Prime Minister Frederiksen made the statement during a meeting of leaders from Northern Europe, the Baltics, and Eastern Europe in the Lithuanian capital.

"I think they (Ukraine) have the right to defend themselves and sometimes it includes pushing back so it seems that it has been successful," the Danish Prime Minister said, commenting on Operation Spider’s Web.

Frederiksen also underlined the need to rearm European militaries in response to the Kremlin’s aggression.

"Russia is a threat to all of us and therefore we need to strengthen our Eastern flank... We have to push for a ceasefire still but at the same time we have to do what is needed at the battlefield in Ukraine so they can actually win this war," she said.

What is known about SBU Operation Spider’s Web

On June 1, 2025, Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a major operation called Spider’s Web aimed at destroying Russian bombers. Reports say 40 aircraft were destroyed.

According to the SBU, the estimated value of the Russian strategic aviation assets hit in the operation is around $7 billion.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that "all terrorist attacks were repelled" at military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk for the results of the operation. He said the SBU’s forward office for the mission on Russian territory was located next to an FSB office in one of the regions. A total of 117 drones were used in the operation.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, later stated that at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed, with even more damaged during the large-scale SBU special op.