Russia launched a wave of missile and drone strikes on Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, responding to Ukraine’s unprecedented “Operation Spiderweb” that hit 41 Russian strategic bombers across multiple airbases deep inside the country.

Fires broke out across Kyiv as debris from falling missiles rained down on residential neighborhoods. A high-rise in the Solomyansky district was damaged, and more destruction was reported in Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi. Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to shelter in place as sirens wailed across the city.

Ukrainian officials said this was Moscow’s response to one of the boldest covert military operations in recent history. Last weekend, Ukrainian drones targeted four Russian airfields — including one in Siberia 4,000 kilometers from the front — in an operation reportedly supervised by President Zelensky himself.

Ukraine’s intelligence agency, the SBU, says the drones were hidden in sheds hauled on trucks and then remotely launched once positioned. The result: at least 13 confirmed bombers destroyed, dozens more damaged, and over $7 billion in estimated losses. The fleet included TU-95 and TU-160 bombers, key parts of Russia’s nuclear triad.

Analysts were stunned. “This is a stunning success for Ukraine’s special services,” said Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute. Tyler Rogoway noted that some of the aircraft lost were integral to Russia’s nuclear deterrent, a blow that will be difficult — if not impossible — to recover from given that many are no longer in production.

The fallout didn’t stop with the airbases. On Tuesday, Ukraine also struck the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea. Underwater mines planted by the SBU were detonated just before dawn, severely damaging the bridge’s support structures. It was another precision strike on a key Russian supply route.

Despite the dramatic military actions, peace talks in Istanbul earlier this week produced no ceasefire. Both sides agreed to exchange more prisoners, but the negotiations were overshadowed by these high-profile escalations. Kyiv’s message was clear: the war is far from over, and Ukraine still has the capability to strike Russia where it hurts most.

Trump responded to the developments by calling Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.”

If Putin’s response is any indication, this war is entering a far more dangerous phase — one with strategic bombers in flames and the threat of a wider escalation looming.