Supersonic aircraft shot down, according to Ukraine; Russia acknowledges losing it
On Friday, one of the Russian Air Force’s Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic heavy bombers went down.
The incident was attributed to mechanical issues, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, although the Ukrainians said the aircraft was shot down.
Moscow claims that the aircraft crashed while returning from a combat operation in the southern Russian territory of Stavropol. Three of the four crew members who had ejected have been retrieved so far. The government also said that there was no ammunition on the plane.
The claimed crash location is located around 600 kilometers beyond Ukraine’s front line.
On social media, military bloggers from Russia and Ukraine posted amazing, but unconfirmed, footage purporting to show the long-range bomber spinning in the air while its engine is burning.
Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said that this was the first instance of a missile successfully taking down an aircraft of its kind. Independent verification of the incident’s allegations was not possible for either side.
The Ukrainian Air Force claims that early on Friday, Russia launched several Tu-22M airstrikes. The statement also said that two of the six cruise missiles they launched against Ukraine were intercepted.
