The Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to shoot down a Russian strategic bomber 300 km from the border

This was reported by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) referring to Andriy Yushov’s words.

“A strategic aviation aircraft of the enemy was destroyed. For the first time during the full-scale invasion, a plane was shot down in the air during a combat mission. This means that another aircraft that followed it was forced to turn back. And this indicates that a number of missiles were not launched at Ukraine”, he said.

Intelligence reports that the enemy’s Tu-22MZ aircraft was successfully shot down about 300 kilometers from Ukraine using the same means that previously struck the Russian long-range radar detection and control aircraft A-50. After being hit, the bomber managed to fly to the Stavropol region where it crashed and was destroyed.

According to the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Forces, Ilya Yevlash, the downing of the Russian Tu-22M3 bomber in the Stavropol Krai was a kind of “vengeance” for the massive attack on Ukraine on the night of April 19.

“This was a sort of vengeance for the fact that Russian strategic aviation attacked our peaceful cities today, where civilians were killed. We all saw these horrific scenes after Russia attacked Ukraine. This is the first time when the Air Forces, together with our partners and GUR, managed to shoot down a Tu-22M3 strategic aviation aircraft”, he said.

Recall that on the night of April 19, Russian occupiers launched a combined missile strike with various types of missiles and attack UAVs.

According to the Air Forces, the Russian Federation used a total of 36 air attack means – 22 missiles of various types and 14 strike drones:

• 2 cruise missiles Kh-101/Kh-555 from Tu-95MS strategic aviation aircraft (launch areas Ryazan);

• 14 strike UAVs type “Shahed-131/136” (from the areas of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk region);

• 12 guided aviation missiles Kh-59/Kh-69 (Kursk region and from the waters of the Azov Sea);

• 2 cruise missiles “Iskander-K” (from Crimea);

• 6 cruise missiles Kh-22 from long-range strategic bombers Tu-22M3 (from the waters of the Black and Azov Seas).

Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed 29 out of 36 air attack means:

• 2 cruise missiles Kh-101/Kh-555;

• 14 strike UAVs type “Shahed-131/136”;

• 11 guided aviation missiles Kh-59/Kh-69;

• 2 cruise missiles Kh-22.

Photo: open sources