During the past week, global attention shifted from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the ongoing war in Ukraine, following an unprecedented covert operation deep inside Russian territory. Plainly, the art with which the operation was designed is indeed captivating for those following military interventions. The strategic operation codenamed Spider Mission, is an act of sabotage that struck at the heart of Russia’s military infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the operation as one that will go down in history books. And rightly so. The destruction of several strategic bombers, reportedly capable of carrying nuclear weapons, not only exposed Russian vulnerabilities but also shattered long-held assumptions about the limits of Ukrainian reach. Having said this, and by the same logic, the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, was also a surprise military strike on the United States, which exposed intelligence weaknesses on the side of the US.
However, what makes this strategic mission particularly significant is its symbolic alignment with the memory of the Budapest Memorandum. Under this agreement, Ukraine agreed to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, inherited from former Soviet stockpiles, in return for security assurances by Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Indeed, the commitment was to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders and to refrain from using force against its territorial integrity. Russia not only disregarded those commitments but broke them, firstly by annexing Crimea in 2014, and later through its full-scale invasion in 2022. This recent operation serves not just as a tactical strike but as a historical reckoning. Back in February, President Donald Trump told President Zelensky that he does not have the cards. Well, following such a strategic mission and deep strike, Ukraine showed that they can hit back. It is a kind of a trump card.
The success of this mission revealed a deeper reality. Ukraine’s military capability is evolving at a pace far beyond what many in Moscow anticipated. This is thanks to the West’s intervention, as well as the so-called Porcupine Strategy; hitting hard when the moment is right not through complex military equipment, but through smarter strategies and lighter weapons. These bombers were not positioned near any combat zones. They were situated deep within Russia’s military hub and presumed safe from Ukrainian reach. However, they were right under the nose of the Russian military. And with such a strike, the assumption that anywhere is safe no longer holds. This mission was a precision strike, requiring real-time intelligence, complex coordination and technological superiority. It is difficult to believe that such a complex operation occurred without some form of Western support, whether in terms of cyber capabilities, satellite imagery or logistical design.
This strike not only undermined Russian military stature, but it fractured the myth of invincibility that Vladimir Putin has spent years projecting irrespective of their nuclear capabilities. The exact nature of the reaction remains to be seen, but this event exposed serious weaknesses in Russia’s intelligence and defence infrastructure. While Moscow may attempt to spin the event or downplay its impact, the strategic damage is already done. In an age where perception often drives deterrence, Russia’s credibility has been badly dented. However, every bold strike in a war, invites a response. At this moment, it remains unclear how Russia will retaliate, or whether its response will be conventional. However, the political narrative following this occurrence, is quite chilling. The Spider Mission marks a psychological turning point. It is, indeed, a humiliation for Russia.
Certainly, such geopolitical instability breeds economic instability. Despite the scale of this operation, the EU’s institutional response was muted. While leaders across Brussels expressed support for Ukraine’s resilience, the strategic implications were barely addressed. Personally, I think they were quite worried on what was happening in Poland. The president that was just elected is not of their likings. But this reluctance in uttering a word is telling. The European Union continues to struggle with its role as a geopolitical actor. Ursula von der Leyen is still running around like a headless chicken, while the rhetoric on strategic autonomy, often fails to resonate and materialise into concrete actions. While programmes like PESCO and the European Defence Fund offer frameworks for common defence initiatives, progress remains incremental.
The Spider Mission is a reminder that we live in a world where security and economy are intertwined. And when we talk about security it is not necessarily military equipment, but also intelligence and cyber security. Europe’s energy dependence, its vulnerability to cyber threats, and its exposure to global trade all mean that what happens in Ukraine or Russian airbases has tangible consequences on the streets of Berlin, Paris and Valletta. This is not a conflict confined to geography. It manifested during the invasion of Ukraine. We saw this happening with sanctions, and the spiralling out of control of inflation over the past three years.
While efforts toward a negotiated settlement have largely stalled, past initiatives such as the Istanbul talks and various diplomatic channels have not been formally abandoned, at least by the time this article was written. Certainly, with each military escalation, the credibility of peace talks diminishes. If Russia chooses to interpret this as an act of Western aggression by proxy, rather than a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the road to dialogue becomes increasingly blurred. The Russians already said that this is an act of terrorism. However, it could also present an opportunity for Ukraine to negotiate a better deal. For the European Union, which has long advocated its support toward Ukraine, this escalation presents a dilemma. And that dilemma is compounded by the uncertainty surrounding the new administration under Donald Trump and now with the new president of Poland.
In the absence of a ceasefire and peace, the risks for the global economy will only increase. Smaller member states like Malta are certainly affected, even though our economy showed resilience. While our geographic location may place us at a distance from Ukraine, the economic consequences may not. As a country reliant on services, tourism and international finance, any disruption to global confidence, energy markets or security frameworks will affect us both directly and indirectly. Malta’s advocacy for peace, neutrality and multilateral dialogue remains essential. But neutrality must be underpinned by resilience, and seen as a platform for peace brokerage. Cybersecurity, energy diversification and strategic foresight must become central pillars of national policy.
The deeper lesson of the Spider Mission is not just military; it is moral and strategic. Ukraine’s destruction of Russian strategic assets is not merely a battlefield success, it is a declaration that broken promises, as penned in the Budapest Memorandum, will not go unchallenged. That’s what happens when diplomacy fails, and trust is shattered. Meanwhile, global attention is increasingly deflected from what’s happening in Gaza. That war, too, is of great concern, not only militarily, but also from a humanitarian perspective. If the European Union does not take a principled stand against this humanitarian catastrophe, then what remains of its raison d’être?
Victory is not only about defeating aggression, but it is also about defending the values that define us. The values of the EU have, in many ways, gone AWOL. True, sovereignty and the rule of law are essential, but so are our international responsibilities. For the European Union, this is the moment to rise beyond rhetoric and to show that it can act decisively, intelligently, and in the interest of peace, not merely political survival. Because loyalty to peace, like loyalty to democracy, must remain strongest when it is hardest to defend. And EU leaders must shy away from preserving their political positions. There is nothing that justifies the atrocities that are happening in the Middle East.
