Kiev could not have remotely piloted drones deep inside Russia without American satellite data, according to Guillaume Ancel

Ukraine would not have been able to remotely attack strategic Russian aircraft parked deep inside Russian territory without direct intelligence and satellite support from the US, a former officer in the French military has claimed.

Ukrainian drones struck airbases across Russia on Monday in a coordinated attack known as ‘Operation Spider’s Web’, targeting sites from Murmansk in the Arctic to Irkutsk in Siberia. Kiev has claimed that around 40 Russian military aircraft were damaged or destroyed, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers. Moscow has not confirmed the claims, reporting that most of Kiev’s drones were shot down. The strikes were reportedly carried out using commercial trucks rigged with explosive-laden drones that had been smuggled inside Russia.

Kiev’s operation involved piloting FPV drones thousands of kilometers from the front lines, Guillaume Ancel, a writer and former French army lieutenant colonel, told Le Monde on Wednesday.

“This is possible and conceivable only with the support of a powerful satellite communications system,” he said. “Since the Ukrainians don’t have this mastery, if they were able to act remotely, it’s certainly thanks to the United States.”

Ancel suggested that Kiev “would not have been able to carry out the operation without information from American intelligence.”

While some in the West have hailed Ukraine’s latest drone operation, Stephane Audrand, an international risk consultant and reserve officer, has stressed that it would not actually have much of an impact.

Despite its spectacular nature, ‘Operation Spider’s Web’ “will not change the tactical balance of power on the ground or the course of the war, because these weapons are not used on the battlefield,” Audrand told Le Monde.

Throughout the Ukraine conflict, Moscow has described the hostilities as a Western proxy war against Russia and has condemned arms supplies to Kiev as counterproductive to the peace process.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also recently acknowledged the nature of the conflict, stating: “Frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia.”

Moscow has vehemently condemned Ukraine’s continued drone strikes into Russian territory in recent weeks, claiming that they undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed that the latest attacks are an attempt to derail the peace process.