Ukraine Strikes Russian Long-Range Strategic Bomber: Report

Ukrainian drones have hit a remote Russian airbase in the Arctic, destroying at least one strategic bomber, it has been reported.

Ukrainian media said the attack on the Olenya airfield in the Murmansk region damaged a Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range supersonic bomber-missile carrier, which can fire AS-4 heavy anti-ship or Kh-22 cruise missiles.

Ukraine had downed a Tu-22M3 for the first time on April 19 according to Ukraine's air force, with the aircraft crashing in Russia's Stavropol Krai just after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

A source within Ukraine's military intelligence agency told the Kyiv Independent that it was behind Saturday's attack without giving details about whether other aircraft were hit.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.

Olenya airfield is more than 1,200 miles from the Ukrainian border and lies only 120 miles from Finland, which angered Moscow when it joined NATO in 2023.

In May, the Barents Observer reported how satellite imagery showed how Russia had deployed to the airfield two Tu-160 and 14 Tu-95 strategic bombers which can carry conventional as well as nuclear cruise missiles.

Pro-Ukrainian X users boasted about the reports of Saturday's strike which has not been independently confirmed. "Ukrainian drones hit a Russian TU-22M3 strategic bomber in Olenya. 1800 km from the border!" posted Jürgen Nauditt on X next to a map showing the distance between the airfield and Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent intelligence source also referred to other strikes at airfields well inside Russian territory.

These included an attack on Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region, around 100 miles southeast of Moscow which hosts also Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, Tu-134UBL, and Ilyushin Il-78 aircraft, as well as a repair plant for the planes.

Social media users reported explosions but Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down drones over Ryazan as well as over four other Russian regions which border Ukraine.

Ukraine is prohibited from firing Western-supplied long-range weapons at Russian territory for fear among Kyiv's allies that this would escalate the war. However, Ukraine frequently launches drones on Russian territory to hit military and energy targets, often without directly claiming responsibility.

Separately, the Kyiv Independent reported that three helicopters had been damaged over the past week in sabotage operations coordinated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR).

A source told the outlet that Ukraine had sabotaged Mi-28 and Ka-226 helicopters on July 21 at the Moscow-based National Center of Helicopter Construction where there were explosions at the site.

Russia's authorities hid details of the incident according to the source who added that another Ukrainian operation destroyed an Mi-8 helicopter on July 24 at the Samara Kryazh military airfield in the Samara region, 500 miles from the border.

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