Russia. Strategic bomber crashes after shelling Ukraine

The Russian strategic bomber Tu-22M3, from which the Russian military conducted attacks on Ukrainian territory, was destroyed on April 19 by units of the Ukrainian Air Force in cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in Russia on April 19. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the aircraft crashed in the Stavropol Krai after completing a "combat mission". Russian forces have been shelling Ukraine from Tu-22M3s, and morning shelling of Ukrainian cities, including the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, also occurred from the aircraft that later crashed. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the cause was attributed to a technical malfunction of the aircraft. However, Kyiv confirmed that the Russian bomber was destroyed by anti-aircraft missile units of the Ukrainian Air Force in cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Russia. Strategic bomber crashes after shelling Ukraine. Kyiv takes responsibility.

For the first time, units of the Air Force in cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine destroyed the long-range strategic bomber Tu-22M3, a carrier of Kh-22 maneuverable missiles, which Russian terrorists use to attack Ukrainian cities. (...) We need more resources, more missiles, to better protect the frontline territories from Russian terrorism - the Ukrainian Air Force stated.
The aircraft crashed in an uninhabited area, causing no damage on the ground.

As reported by the Russian propaganda news agency RIA, three crew members were evacuated by a search and rescue team, and the search for one pilot is ongoing. Later, the governor of the Stavropol Krai, Vladimir Vladimirov, reported that one crew member died. The search for the fourth pilot is ongoing.

https://twitter.com/ukrpravda_news/status/1781180305556029936 

Ukrainian Air Force Commander General Mykola Oleshchuk emphasized that today's attack also marked the first instance of destroying two Kh-22 missiles fired by the same aircraft. - Instant karma in action - the Tu-22M3 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which fired missiles overnight, crashed in the Stavropol Krai - reads the statement from the Ukrainian armed forces.

This is revenge for Russian strategic aircraft attacking our peaceful cities today, where civilians were killed - said Air Force spokesman Ilya Yevlash on Radio Liberty. - Today is a black day in Russian propaganda media. I think they will be very, very unhappy today. Everything is happening for the first time. The Tu-22 was shot down for the first time. Well, now we are waiting for the strategic bomber Tu-95 to be shot down - he said.

https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1781181983634211030

Tu-22M aircraft are designed to attack land and sea targets with supersonic missiles and guided bombs at any time of day and in any weather conditions.

They can be carriers of nuclear weapons. Russian propaganda media report that there are about 60 units in the long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, the aircraft were also part of the Air Forces of Belarus and Ukraine. Soviet Tu-22M3s were used in combat operations in Afghanistan (1989), in South Ossetia (2008), in Syria (from 2015 to the present), and also for shelling Ukraine.