New in SpyWeek: Kyiv Shocker, Gabbard Mess, Kid to Run DHS Counterextremism

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LITTLE MOSSAD: CIA veterans were kvelling over the operation Ukrainian intelligence managed to pull off at multiple sites deep inside Russia that took out a sizable chunk of the Kremlin’s fleet of strategic nuclear bombers. “​​The Little Mossad is growing up fast,” Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA senior operations officer who served in counterterrorism roles in the Middle East, wrote on X.

A satellite image showing Russian aircraft targeted by Kyiv’s drones at Engels Air Base in Russia. (Maxar Technologies)

A year and a half in the making, the drone attack on June 1, dubbed "Operation Spider Web,” earned massive respect from within global intel circles for Ukraine’s security service, the SBU. “The SBU has transformed during the three-year war into the sharp tip of Ukraine’s spear after decades of being maligned as corrupt, shot through with traitors and more focused on chasing political opponents than security threats,” the Wall Street Journal reported.  Deploying drones concealed in trucks to strike four Russian airfields, the attack damaged 41 nuclear bombers and other surveillance aircraft, the SBU said.

Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, called it “brilliant … on par with Hezbollah pager operation.” Speaking on Fox News, Baker added, “This has shaken Putin more than anything.” Another CIA ops officer and prolific Substacker, Michael Sellers, also couldn’t hold back: “This was truly a beautiful operation, and the timing was perfect.”  More could be coming. “The front line inside Ukraine will remain a hellscape of drones and artillery,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote. “But covert operations could expand into a ‘dirty war’ beyond the front, with more targeted killings, sabotage, and strikes on countries that supply arms to Ukraine and Russia, respectively.”