DJ and tattoo artist: who was really behind Operation “Web”

Artem and Kateryna Timofeyev, Ukrainians by origin, became key coordinators of the Security Service of Ukraine within the framework of the unique operation “Web”, carried out on the territory of Russia on June 1, 2025.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Artem Timofeev, a former DJ in Kyiv clubs, moved to Chelyabinsk in 2018 at the invitation of his father, who ran a mill there and suggested starting a family business. His wife, Kateryna, worked as a tattoo artist in Russia.

The couple participated in the 2014 Revolution of Dignity protests, and after the occupation of Crimea, they joined the Ukrainian diaspora in the Russian Federation. For the SBU, it was their background, origin, and life position that made them ideal candidates for the operation — but the security service had to be completely sure of their loyalty. The Timofeyevs were secretly transported to Lviv, where they successfully passed a polygraph test.

After that, they were put at the center of a special operation. According to the WSJ, the couple “lived and breathed their mission” — remotely learning to assemble drones and special “houses” under video surveillance from curators from Ukraine.

Upon returning to Russia, the Timofeyevs immediately came under suspicion — they were detained at the border by FSB officers. Russian passports with the place of birth “Ukraine” raised additional questions, and the couple were held for three hours before being released.

Having settled back in Chelyabinsk, Artem created a logistics company, rented a warehouse and office, purchased trucks, and began recruiting drivers. Candidates underwent not only an interview with Timofeyev, but also a covert check by Ukrainian intelligence — it was important to find people who were “reliable, but not prying.”

In parallel, Kateryna continued to work as a tattoo artist and at the same time assisted in the operation.

After the equipment arrived, they spent hours assembling 150 drones and eight special “houses” in a warehouse. The drones were assembled in a week, while larger structures had to be finished by hand — including reworking the roof, which flew off its hinges several times and once almost injured Kateryna. SBU curators remotely controlled the process.

By the end of April, all the equipment was ready — and this became a key part of the subsequent, large-scale special operation “Website.”

It should be noted that the Security Service of Ukraine conducted an unprecedented special operation deep inside Russia, striking four military airfields and destroying 41 enemy strategic bombers. Operation “Web”, which was prepared for over a year and a half under the leadership of the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, became the largest strike on the Russian aviation fleet since the beginning of the full-scale war.

Recall that engineers of the Security Service of Ukraine developed and manufactured unique drones for the special operation “Web”.

As reported, the Security Service of Ukraine denied the statements of the leadership of the Russian FSB about the alleged participation of foreign partners in the special operation “Web”. The Ukrainian special service emphasized thatthe operation was developed and implemented exclusively by its own forces and became one of the most successful strikes on Russian strategic aviation during the entire war.

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