Ukraine successfully shoots down first Russian strategic bomber

KYIV — Ukraine succeeded for the first time in shooting down a Tu–22M3 strategic bomber, used by Russia to bomb Ukraine from a distance, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement Friday.

“The enemy aircraft was shot down at a distance of about 300 kilometers from Ukraine. The damaged bomber was able to fly to the Stavropol region of Russia, where it fell and crashed,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said in a Telegram post.

Previously, Kyiv had only managed to damage bombers at the Russian airfield and not been able to reach the Tu–22M3. The strategic bomber, which carries Kh-22 cruise missiles, is used to attack Ukrainian cities from a large distance.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said Ukrainians used the same means to down the bomber as were previously used to shoot down an A-50 surveillance plane over the Sea of Azov in January.

The Russian defense ministry said the bomber crashed as it was returning from a mission in Ukraine “due to technical malfunction.” Locals in Stavropol posted videos of a burning plane falling.

The bomber mission was part of a larger Russian air attack which killed eight and injured 25 in the Dnipro region, in the east of Ukraine, in the early hours of Friday, local authorities said.

Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down all 14 drones and 15 out of 22 missiles Russia launched in Friday’s attack.

In the city of Dnipro, the Russian attack damaged five high-rise buildings, two private houses, three educational institutions, seven administrative and office buildings, a market, shops, trade pavilions and a hotel, Dnipro Regional Military Administration reported. In the Synelnykove district of the Dnipro region, the attack damaged more than 60 private homes and destroyed a solar power station, the administration added.

“Every state that provides air-defense systems to Ukraine, every leader who helps convince partners that air defense should now not be in warehouses, but in real cities and communities that are under attack by terrorists, everyone who supports our defense is a lifesaver,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the strikes.