section_path: Battlespaces/Missile attacks and aerial warfare
section_name: Missile attacks and aerial warfare
paragraph_text: Missile attacks and aerial warfare
  
  Aerial warfare began the first day of the invasion. Dozens of missile attacks were recorded across both eastern and western Ukraine, reaching as far west as Lviv.
  
  By September 2022, the Ukrainian air force had shot down about 55 Russian warplanes. In mid-October, Russian forces launched missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, intended to knock out energy facilities. By late November, hundreds of civilians had been killed or wounded in the attacks, and rolling blackouts had left millions without power.
  
  In December 2022, drones launched from Ukraine allegedly carried out several attacks on Dyagilevo and Engels air bases in western Russia, killing 10 and heavily damaging two Tu-95 aircraft.
  
  On 1 June 2025, Ukraine carried out ″ Operation Spider's Web ″, targeting several air bases deep inside Russian territory using smuggled drones. The operation was seen as successful, with Ukraine saying it had damaged or destroyed 41 high-value aircraft, including strategic bombers used to coordinate and launch attacks on Ukrainian cities. US officials assessed a lower number, saying that Ukraine had hit 20 planes, destroying 10 of them. The operation is estimated to have caused billions of dollars worth of damage to Russian aircraft.