Camilla Jessen
Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov lashes out following a devastating Ukrainian drone operation.
The June 1 drone assault on Russian airfields by Ukrainian forces has sparked fury within Russia’s pro-war media ecosystem.
While top officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have remained silent, some hardline propagandists are demanding retaliation, not just against Ukraine, but against NATO members.
According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the operation—codenamed Spider Web—used 117 drones to destroy or damage 41 aircraft across four airbases deep in Russian territory: Belaia, Diagilevo, Olenia, and Ivanovo.
If confirmed, this would mean Ukraine disabled 34% of Russia’s long-range strategic bombers in a single night.
This was reported by The Kyiv Independent.
Strikes on NATO Territory
Reacting on his state-run TV show, Kremlin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov went as far as suggesting attacks on airfields in Poland and Romania, claiming they were used by Ukrainian aircraft.
He also advocated for missile strikes on Ukraine’s presidential headquarters in Kyiv.
Calling the drone operation a justification for nuclear escalation, Solovyov declared that “revenge is inevitable,” and called for sweeping military censorship to suppress footage filmed by Russian soldiers during the attack.
Joining the rhetoric, Russia Today editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan warned that “revenge” would involve executions of those responsible.
Not Everyone in Lockstep
While Solovyov called for escalation, other pro-war voices expressed rare public dissent.
The well-known pro-military blogger Fighter Bomber described the Ukrainian drone strike as “a black day for Russia’s long-range aviation.”
In a blistering post, he mocked the military’s failure to detect the launch containers hidden inside Russian territory, suggesting corruption and incompetence allowed the attack to succeed.
Another blogger, Starșe Eddy, rejected the idea that the West orchestrated the operation, crediting Ukrainians for executing a sophisticated, daring strike.
“The Ukrainians are not stupid at all,” he wrote, urging the Kremlin to stop blaming external actors for Russia’s own shortcomings.
Adding to the criticism, Aleksander Kot, a prominent war correspondent, wrote that the time for sugar-coating is over.
“We must tell the truth now, no matter how bitter,” he said. “We’ll win the war—but not by lying to ourselves.”