Ever since the Ukrainian 1 June suicidal Spiderweb Operation, news and political analyses the world over have been frantically following up on its ramifications. On 1 June more than 100 Ukrainian drones struck air bases deep inside Russia, targeting nuclear-capable long-range bombers. Explosions reported across several time zones all over Russia—as far north as Murmansk above the Arctic Circle, and as far east as Irkutsk, over 4,000km from Ukraine. According to Ukraine, 41 strategic bombers were hit and “at least” 13 destroyed. According to Ukrainian officials, President Zelensky in person oversaw the operation.
Moscow acknowledged the attacks and confirmed that a number of its military aircrafts in Murmansk and Irkutsk have caught fire. Perpetrators were caught, Moscow announced, confirming that investigations are underway, and ways of retaliation are being considered.
Until writing this article, analysts believed that Ukraine’s role in Operation Spiderweb, which was dubbed as terrorist by the Russians, was but as a cat’s paw in a diabolic 18-month-in-the-planning plot against Russia hatched by the CIA, MI6 and Mossad. This plot, according to political analysts, aimed at hindering negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, in order for the conflict to extend, to exhaust Russia and defeat it. That was pivotal especially following the Russian’s remarkable battlefield victories against Ukraine, in addition to their extraordinary ability to override the economic sanctions imposed upon them by the US and its European allies.
During a phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin in the wake of the recent suicidal operation, President Trump said he did not know about the attack, and President Putin threatened a decisive response. Political analysts explained that ever since WWII, intelligence and security apparatuses in the US, the UK and other western countries have enjoyed a freehand when it came to planning and executing their operations; they are not required to seek approval of political leaderships in their countries nor to report to them. Curiously, the prerogative is that political leaderships are short-lived and can be changed anytime, thus they should not be allowed to obstruct what security and intelligence apparatuses see as beneficial to national security. By all means this is a calamity which not only excludes political leaders, but also infringes on the constitutional rights of the people.
The world is holding its breath in anticipation of Russian retaliation to the Spiderweb Operation. Some have dubbed it the “Ukrainian Pearl Harbour”; others used the Arabic proverb “Baraqesh committed the crime against herself”, meaning “She brought it upon herself” to explain the whole situation. Let me explain the source of both these expressions.
“Ukrainian Pearl Harbor” references the Japanese surprise operation on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor, also called the “Hawaii Operation” was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the US Military fleet at its Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian island of Oahu, on 7 December 1941. At that time the US was a neutral country in WWII. The attack resulted in huge losses to the American Navy, and the US entered WWII with the Allies. At the time, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said his famous line: “So we had won after all!” which they promptly had. Some draw parallels between the Ukrainian surprise Spiderweb Operation against Russia and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
As to the Arabian proverb “Baraqesh committed the crime against herself”, it refers to the consequences of making miscalculated, unwise decisions, or acting against sound advice, ultimately harming oneself or loved ones. The tale stems from Arabian history/tradition, telling the story of Baraqesh a dog in the habit of barking whenever a stranger came close to the village where it lived. One day it barked to alert the village to a band of robbers approaching the village, so the villagers gathered their belongings and hid in a nearby cavern. Once the robbers came they found no one, but Baraqesh kept on barking, inadvertently alerting the robbers to the hiding place of the villagers who were then attacked and their belongings looted. Baraqesh was killed.
No surprise that political analysts see an analogy between the unanticipated Ukrainian strike on Russia with the surprise Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The latter had the catastrophic repercussion of jolting America out of its neutrality in WWII; it joined the European Allies in a move that resulted in defeat of the Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan. Experts today agree that Ukraine’s success in striking Russian military base—a role in which it executed the plot by US, British and Israeli intelligence—will backfire, and it will ultimately pay a dear price when Russia wages retaliatory strikes to defend its political and military dignity.
The hidden intentions behind the Ukrainian attack are no secret; Russia as well as political analysts know it was intended to provoke Russia to abandon negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. Following the Ukrainian strike, Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy, Rodion Miroshnik said: “This large-scale incident has Ukrainian roots. Terrorist methods are internationally prohibited but they’re used at State level by Ukraine. Kiev is fundamentally not satisfied with the dialogue being organised. Therefore, on the eve of the next round of negotiations, a whole series of terrorist acts was committed which emphatically sought to force Russia to abandon negotiations. But we do not consider it possible for us to take this kind of action because negotiations and military activities will be separated. And as for terrorist actions, I think that their organisers will receive appropriate responses. There will definitely be no forgiveness or backing down in this sense. But their mission of forcing Russia to abandon negotiations by heavy pressure simply did not work out.”
For now, we hold our breaths in anticipation of some Russian vengeful retaliation against Ukraine. Various political declarations expect Russian strikes against Ukrainian strategic sites but, given the role of US, British, and Israeli intelligence in plotting the Ukrainian strike, some expect Russian self-restraint in order to avoid the expansion of war operations to dangerous levels that might extend even beyond Ukraine. As I write this editorial, we are still be waiting for Russia to take action. Or will it have done so already?
Watani International
13 June 2025
