The Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to destroy a strategic nuclear bomber of Russia for the first time, The Moscow Times reported. It happened during a drone attack on an airfield in the Novgorod Oblast.
“At least one plane was damaged yesterday [August 19], the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported. A photo of the Soltsy military airfield in the Novgorod Oblast after a drone strike may have appeared on the network. The photo shows a completely burnt Tu-22M3,” the journalists wrote.
The destroyed Tu-22M3 could have been a carrier of Kh-22 Burya (“Storm”) cruise missiles and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge.
Russia has no engineering and technical base left for the new construction of strategic bombers, adds The Moscow Times. The publication’s sources claim that Putin discussed the issue of sabotage with the security forces.
“They “swore” that this would not happen again, but no one could give a 100% guarantee,” the journalists noted.
Russia’s so-called “military bloggers” criticized the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the fact that it was impossible to prevent an attack by drones on an air base in Ukraine. Russian opinion leaders also accuse the military leadership of the occupiers of underestimating the seriousness of the damage to the planes.
In general, such attacks on the rear of Russia anger society and worsen the morale of the occupiers, analysts of the Institute for the Study of War write. American experts say this could threaten Russian defense’s stability in many critical areas of the front.
Cover: The Moscow Times
