Russia’s Northern Fleet Not Targeted by Massive Ukrainian Drone Attack Contrary to Initial Reports

As the scope of Ukraine’s massive stealth drone attack across Russia over the weekend comes into focus, one thing now appears clear. Contrary to early media reports Operation Spiderweb did not target Russia’s Northern Fleet and its home base in Kola Bay north of Murmansk. 

Initial reports of large-scale explosions and fires in the direction of Severomorsk, where the Northern Fleet’s surface assets are homeported, could not be verified. Accompanying video footage allegedly showing billowing smoke over the port, has since been geolocated to the Olenya Airbase 90 kilometers to the south. Russia acknowledged attacks at four airbases, including Olenya, but has denied that Northern Fleet Headquarters were attacked. 

The Northern Fleet is a key asset of the Russian Navy comprising the majority of its nuclear strike capability. With the emergence of the Arctic Ocean as a theatre for global power dynamics – the U.S. dispatched a nuclear aircraft carrier into the Arctic for the first time in nearly 30 years in 2019 – the role of the Northern Fleet within Russia has recently been elevated. It became its own Joint Strategic Command in 2014 and has since joined the Leningrad Military District. 

The fleet has received a number of new ships and submarines, including a novel combat icebreaker, though like most of Russia’s military assets it is facing significant challenges due to aging ships, still relying heavily on Soviet-era vessels.

The Northern Fleet has a long and storied history in Russia. In fact, June 1st, the day Ukraine executed Operation Spiderweb, was the Fleet’s 292nd birthday, having been formally established on June 1, 1733; a fact quickly seized on by commentators online speculating about a targeted attack against the fleet on its birthday. 

Unlike Russia’s Black Sea assets – which have suffered substantial losses at around 40 percent – the Northern Fleet’s surface ships and submarines have thus far not been successfully targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks. 

In September 2024 a number of long-range drones reached the Olenya Airbase to the south, where they were subsequently shot down, though unverified sources say some drones reached the airfield. It is unclear if those previous Ukrainian attacks targeted the Northern Fleet located 90 kilometers to the north of Olenya or were intended for the airbase.

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