Operation Spider Net: Will Putin’s Nuclear Menace Spin Ukraine Battle Out Of Management?

The Russia-Ukraine battle has taken a harmful flip after Ukraine’s daring drone assault, codenamed Operation Spider Net, struck deep inside Russian territory. On June 1, 2025, Ukraine’s Safety Service (SBU) used 117 drones to hit 4 Russian airbases, damaging over 40 plane, together with nuclear-capable Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers. This assault, hailed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s largest long-range strike, has brought on an estimated $7 billion in losses, wiping out 34% of Russia’s strategic air fleet. Whereas Ukraine celebrates this historic blow, the world holds its breath, fearing Russian President Vladimir Putin would possibly reply with nuclear weapons. With Russia’s up to date nuclear doctrine and superior missiles just like the RS-28 Sarmat, Iskander-M, Oreshnik, and Kh-22/Kh-32, the stakes couldn’t be greater. Is that this the tipping level for a world disaster?

Operation Spider Net was a masterstroke of covert warfare. Ukrainian drones, smuggled into Russia inside vans with hidden compartments, had been launched remotely to strike airbases with pinpoint accuracy. The assault didn’t simply destroy planes; it hit Russia’s satisfaction and its nuclear triad, the spine of its deterrence technique. Zelenskyy known as it a second for historical past books, however the celebration could also be short-lived. Russia’s response might reshape the battle—and the world.

Putin has been clear about his crimson traces. Final 12 months, he revised Russia’s nuclear doctrine, reducing the brink for utilizing nuclear weapons. Now, even a standard assault backed by a nuclear energy—like Ukraine’s drone strikes supported by Western weapons—might set off a nuclear response. In line with the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has 5,460 nuclear warheads, with 1,718 able to launch. This large arsenal, mixed with superior supply programs, makes Russia’s threats chillingly actual.

One such system is the RS-28 Sarmat, nicknamed “Devil-2.” This 116-foot, 220-ton intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can journey 18,000 km at Mach 20, carrying as much as 15 nuclear warheads, every 2,000 occasions extra highly effective than the Hiroshima bomb. Regardless of testing setbacks, Russia is pushing to deploy it, signaling its intent to intimidate the West. A single Sarmat might devastate a number of cities, making it a weapon of apocalyptic potential.

Then there’s the Oreshnik, a hypersonic intermediate-range missile examined in Ukraine’s Dnipro final November. With a spread of 5,000 km and a pace of Mach 10, it carries six warheads, every with six submunitions. Putin claims it’s unstoppable, and even with typical warheads, a number of Oreshniks might rival a nuclear strike’s destruction. Its use was a warning to NATO, which provides Ukraine with long-range weapons like ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.

The Iskander-M, a short-range ballistic missile, provides to Russia’s menace. With a 500-km vary and Mach 7 pace, it might carry nuclear or typical warheads. Its maneuvering warhead dodges missile defenses, making it a nightmare for Ukraine’s air defenses. Russia has used it extensively to hit navy and industrial targets, displaying its reliability in high-intensity fight.

The Kh-22 and Kh-32 missiles, launched from Tu-22M bombers, are older however nonetheless lethal. With speeds of Mach 3.5 and ranges as much as 1,000 km, they’ve pounded Ukraine’s infrastructure. In 2024, Russia fired not less than 74 of those, focusing on cities like Kyiv and Odesa. Whereas much less exact than fashionable missiles, their nuclear functionality and sheer energy make them a relentless menace.

Russia’s retaliation might take many varieties. A traditional response would possibly contain intensified missile barrages, just like the July 2024 assault on 5 Ukrainian cities utilizing Kh-101 missiles, which broken a kids’s hospital. However the worry is nuclear escalation. Posts on X recommend Russia is contemplating tactical nuclear weapons in response to Spider Net, although these claims stay unverified. Putin’s personal phrases final month—that nuclear weapons aren’t wanted but—supply little consolation when his doctrine now permits their use for assaults like Ukraine’s.

For India, watching from afar, it is a wake-up name. A nuclear escalation would disrupt international stability, spike power costs, and threaten meals safety, hitting creating nations hardest. India’s impartial stance within the battle has allowed it to steadiness ties with Russia and the West, however a nuclear disaster would drive harder selections. New Delhi should push for de-escalation by means of diplomacy, leveraging its voice in boards just like the UN.

The world stands at a crossroads. Ukraine’s daring strike has uncovered Russia’s vulnerabilities, however it might have additionally provoked a wounded bear. Putin’s subsequent transfer—whether or not a standard blitz or a nuclear gamble—will determine if this battle spirals into a world catastrophe. The worldwide neighborhood should act quick to tug each side again from the brink. Dialogue, not drones or warheads, is the one solution to untangle this lethal net.

(The creator of this text is an award-winning Science Author and a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based mostly in Bengaluru. He’s additionally Director of ADD Engineering Elements, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)