☕ What is Operation Spiderweb?

Good morning!

There’s sporting upsets, and then there’s sporting upsets.

French tennis player Lois Boisson, ranked 361 in the world, just beat World No. 3 Jessica Pegula in her first Grand Slam. The 22-year-old, who only made her WTA debut in April, used her home ground advantage to the absolute maximum to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.

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Some headlines from this morning:

A man accused of attacking a pro-Israel demonstration in Colorado has been charged with 16 counts of attempted murder, and hate crimes. Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in the Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall in Boulder. According to FBI agents, Soliman told investigators he had been planning the attack for over a year and wanted to "kill all Zionist people." President Trump posted on Truth Social, criticising the Biden administration for allowing the Egyptian national into the country, saying such attacks would not be tolerated. The incident occurred during a demonstration supporting Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to limited prisoner exchanges following peace talks that concluded yesterday. The agreement includes exchanges of all prisoners who are sick, heavily wounded, or under 25 years old, and Russia will repatriate the bodies of 6,000 Ukrainian troops. However, the two sides remain far apart on ceasefire terms - Ukraine has requested a full 30-day ceasefire, while Russia has only offered a limited three-day pause along parts of the frontline. Ukrainian negotiators said they will study a Russian memorandum outlining proposals for a lasting ceasefire.

Mount Etna, Italy’s most active volcano, erupted on Tuesday morning, marking its second significant eruption this year. Volcanologists first recorded activity early Tuesday (local time), with lava flow visible on the mountain. The eruption appears to be Strombolian - where gas builds in the volcano's main chamber and explodes on the magma surface, ejecting volcanic material. Despite being Europe's most active volcano, the damage appears minimal. Sicily's airports are operating normally and no evacuation orders have been issued.

Disney will cut several hundred jobs across its entertainment divisions as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. The layoffs will primarily affect marketing departments for film and TV. Disney said the cuts are necessary to "keep up with rapid industry transformation" and operate more effectively. CEO Bob Iger announced the streamlining plan in 2023, which has already resulted in the elimination of over 7,000 positions. Despite the cuts, Disney reported a 7% revenue increase in its recent second-quarter earnings compared to last year.

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The U.S. is leading another round of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

It comes as violence erupted at aid centres in Gaza, with reports that at least 21 Palestinians were killed while accessing aid on Sunday.

The ceasefire proposal

Last week, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff proposed a ceasefire deal to Israel and Hamas.

The deal would include a 60-day ceasefire. During this time, 10 living and 18 dead hostages would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners (the exact number hasn't been specified).

Israeli military operations would cease and humanitarian aid would enter Gaza through agreed channels, including the UN.

Israel has accepted the proposal. Hamas has called for changes, including assurances the ceasefire would continue beyond 60 days.

What's the response?

Witkoff said Hamas' response was "totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards."

He urged Hamas to accept the deal so parties can begin "substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire."

Qatar and Egypt (who've been hosting ceasefire talks) echoed Witkoff's call to begin a 60-day ceasefire as a starting point for a permanent agreement.

Violence at aid centres

While negotiations continue, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported at least 21 people were shot dead at an aid centre in southern Gaza on Sunday.

The ICRC said it was "the highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident" since establishing its field hospital in southern Gaza.

The attacks followed the rollout of a controversial Israeli-endorsed, U.S.-backed aid system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The UN and other NGOs refuse to endorse GHF's work, claiming its cooperation with Israeli demands breaches humanitarian principles.

Both the IDF and GHF denied any shots were fired. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said at least 31 people had been killed.

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You might have seen news of ‘Operation Spiderweb’ - a mission carried out by Ukrainain forces in Russia. Let’s catch up on what has been a big week in the conflict.

What happened?

Ukraine's secret service targeted dozens of Russian warplanes in an operation that spanned three time zones, involved 117 drones, and took over a year and a half to plan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally oversaw 'Operation Spiderweb', which he says damaged 40 Russian warplanes. This includes over 30% of Russia's long-range cruise missile carriers.

Russia's Defense Ministry has downplayed the attacks. It said only two of the five targeted airfields were successfully hit and claimed to have detained several people involved.

Neither account can be independently verified.

How did the operation work?

Ukrainian forces smuggled small drones called 'quadcopters' into Russia and placed them in modified shipping containers with remotely detachable roofs.

The containers were loaded onto trucks and driven to locations near Russian airfields. Unidentified businessmen reportedly hired truck drivers without being aware of what they were carrying.

When positioned near their targets, operators remotely opened the container roofs and flew the explosive-laden drones to Russian aircraft.

Each of the 117 drones was controlled remotely by a soldier in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said the operation's "office" was located directly next to Russia's FSB (secret service) headquarters in one region. He claimed all people who assisted the operation "were now safe" — contradicting Russia's claims of capturing Ukrainian operatives.

Who was targeted?

Russian authorities confirmed airfields in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur were targeted. Amur is nearly 5,000 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Russia reported that only attacks in Murmansk and Irkutsk were successful. Ukraine claims it successfully hit four of the five targeted airfields.

The attacks focused on Russian aircraft that had been bombing Ukraine, including planes capable of carrying multiple cruise missiles with 400kg of explosives each.

Ukraine estimates it caused over $7 billion in damage to Russian aircraft.

What happens next?

The attacks came as Russia and Ukraine concluded another round of peace talks in Turkey, which began earlier this month.

Over the weekend, Russia launched its own mass aerial attacks on major Ukrainian cities and military training bases, using over 500 drones and dozens of missiles.

TDU asks